Doesn't everyone want a life of Happiness, Financial Success and Dignity - ESPECIALLY in RETIREMENT!! Planning for a Long, Happy and Healthy retirement involves making decisions and employing strategies about very predictable outcomes (i.e. Certain Expenses, Your Estate, Social Security claiming, etc) and many unknown events, including the possible need for Long-Term Care Services.
The key to making the most of those later years? Start planning today to live life on your terms tomorrow.
How do you analyze and understand the issues so you can make plans that fit your situation when you are dealing with so many unknowns? I look at it as a lot of “Educated Guessing” – so let’s get more educated.
The planning process should involve assessing your own personal situation, looking at factors like your family history and your own health & lifestyle. But this assessment also needs to be seen through the lens of what the common trends and realities are for our overall population.
Chart 1 illustrates what are the probabilities of needing any type, as well as needing any specific type of services, who may provide those services and how long people typically need paid care.
Chart 2 shows the average cost of care in 2021 for specific services Nationally and then in New Jersey, one of the most expensive states for services. (Alaska is typically the number 1 most expensive state in most categories, if you were curious.) Also, keep in mind that the inflation on these services has historically run much higher than general inflation rates
Chart 3 show what type of funding options are typically available. Medicaid is the largest single payer of LTSS in the United States; in 2020, according to the Congressional Research Service report in 2022. But Medicaid has strict requirements about your overall assets that can be difficult to meet.
In a way, everyone can think of themselves as being insured because they are either SELF-INSURED or they purchase LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE. The decision to purchase insurance or not is often based on whether they are willing to accept the risk of the possible cost of care if needed or if they want to transfer that risk to an insurance company.
I would be happy to have a conversation with you so you understand what your potential needs and options are.
Don’t plan to fail by failing to plan.