By You may or may not know that November is Long-term Care Insurance Awareness Month. Now, this may not sound like a fun topic to spend a month talking about, but I can tell you from personal experience – three examples in my extended family in fact – that if you need this coverage and don’t have it, there will be regrets.
The stats show that long-term care is not just for the elderly or the dying. A significant portion of the payouts are to people under the age of 65 who need care for some type of accident or illness, even if they go on to live many more years. Folks, without coverage, the costs will come out of your pocket, and could result in the loss of assets you had earmarked for other things, like retirement, vacations, a second home, or a leaving a legacy.
This holiday season as families are gathering together again, I encourage you to find a bit of time to talk to your parents or grandparents about securing this type of coverage while they can, or, if you’re of the age when it’s time to buy a policy, think about taking action for yourself. I don’t want you to spend the whole holiday talking money, but family gatherings can be a good time to look to the future, and think about protecting the family’s finances.
I do know that there are some folks who may not qualify for this type of insurance. If that’s you or your parents, let us know. There are other ways to prepare for long-term care expenses, but it’s always better to start earlier rather than later. Let us help you have this conversation.
If you’re still in the group who could get coverage but won’t for whatever reason, please, think about doing so for your family. Even if it does rein in your lifestyle a bit to obtain coverage, it could affect theirs significantly if you don’t. As the family member who is a planner, this is one of the things that keeps me awake at night. Long-term care costs are real, they do happen, and yet so few people consider this type of coverage in their early 50s when they should.
And please – don’t tell me you’ll die before you’ll need it. Research shows that this isn’t likely to be the case, and I do care about and each and every one of you, our collective client families, and the lineage and legacy you leave behind.
Article by David Smyth, Senior Partner at Family Financial Partners — a financial services firm in Lexington, Kentucky.
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