While the long-term care you’ll need in the future probably doesn’t feel like a top priority today, it is actually something that you should be taking into consideration sooner rather than later. Up to 70% of 65-year-old Americans will need this care, and knowing that costs can be staggering, you should start preparing as soon as possible. The quality of long-term care you receive is dependent on your means to pay for it.
Where Do You Picture Your Care?
When beginning to plan for your eventual long-term needs, you must first consider where you’d like to receive this care. Everyone’s preferences are different, so take time to think about the benefits of at home care, assisted living facilities, or nursing homes. Maybe you’d prefer to stay where you are and have caretakers come to you, or maybe you’d be more comfortable in a home where treatment and help is more readily available. You cannot predict the level of care that you will require, but having an idea of where you’d like to be will help with your savings plans.
What Will the Price Tag Look Like?
You can’t put a price on your health and happiness, but you can at least try to budget for it. A lot of people have a majority of their funds for something like long-term care in a retirement plan like an IRA or 401(k), and they are both good options for where to pull from. If you choose to pay out of pocket, though there are other options, you should keep in mind that you will also have to pay taxes on whatever you withdraw. In this case you are looking at a median annual cost of $51,600 for an assisted living facility, and $105,850 for a private room in a nursing home.
How Can You It Be Afforded?
If paying out of pocket seems like it won’t be in the cards for you, there are other ways to ensure your long-term care needs are covered. The first option can be long-term care insurance, and a second can be an asset-based long-term care insurance policy that will essentially draw funds from your life insurance death benefit. Immediate annuity can also be used to cover expenses in the case that long-term care needs happen sooner than you think. All options and their resulting downsides can be discussed with a professional, and though expensive, may provide the assistance you need.
Planning for your long-term care needs is just as important as planning for retirement, and at Moore’s Wealth Management we hope to set you in the right direction. Click here to schedule a time to speak with us!
