Q. My wife and I are in our late 50s and retirement is on our minds. We do plan to continue to work for a few more years, but we’re nearing the next season of our lives. We have three children, one in high school, two in college. We feel that they are adequately set for their futures, now we want to focus on us. We’re interested in long-term care planning and discussing our options. Do you have any suggestions for us as we start this endeavor?
A. When it comes to long-term care planning, it’s never too early to start. Long-term care planning can mean a lot of things for older adults. I think it’s best to sit down with your spouse and have a candid conversation about what you want your retirement years to look like. Here are a few questions to discuss together:
What sort of lifestyle do you want to maintain? What happens down the road when you need more help? Would you rather age-in-place or move to a retirement community? What factors do you need to account for regarding your family medical history, such as dementia, cardiovascular disease, cancer, or stroke? If one of you were to die, how would the other spouse want to live?
Once you decide what sort of lifestyle you desire and where you want to retire, then you can start exploring long-term care insurance policies. Many adults miss their window to purchase a long-term care insurance policy because they assume it only applies to nursing homes. They also assume Medicare or Medicaid will pay for their future long-term care needs.
However, these government programs only pay for some services and they have restrictions, meaning the remaining balance is your responsibility to pay. Medicare pays up to 100 days of services after a qualifying hospital stay and is considered short-term. Medicaid is essentially for those who have limited assets and income. The state essentially makes decisions on your behalf, including where you receive the care you need. This is why long-term care planning is so essential.
Most long-term care insurances cover nursing homes, assisted living communities, memory care facilities, adult day care centers, home health, home care, respite care, and hospice care. Look for a policy that meets your long-term living goals. For example, if you prefer to age-in-place, you might want a policy that will help you pay for home care should you need it down the road.
It’s also important to note that if you wait too long, you might not health-qualify for certain long-term care insurance plans. Your 50s are generally the best age to start paying into long-term care insurance because most adults in their 50s are generally healthy, making plans affordable.
Finally, once you have a tentative plan, I encourage you to share your plan with your children. Let them know your wishes, as difficult as the conversation may be. It’s important for them to hear directly from you what you desire so that should they ever need to make a decision on your behalf, they can do so with confidence. Also let them know where they can find important documents and make a habit of keeping your documents current.
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