|
E-mail this page to a friend!
Guarding Your Wealth for Seniors
Bridging the Long-Term Care Gap: Part 3
The real conundrum exists for senior citizens of
moderate means
By Jeffrey D. Voudrie, CFP
Jan. 25, 2006 - Providing for adequate health care
is one of the top concerns for today’s seniors. And yet, many find
themselves coming up short when that need is for long term care. With
costs skyrocketing and government purse strings tightening, planning for
such care has never been more important. Don’t let long term care costs
take you by surprise. Read on to make sure you’re prepared.
My last two articles discussed in detail the gap
that exists between what seniors need in long term care and what
Medicare and Medicaid will cover. Combine that with the proposed
Congressional bill restricting Medicaid nursing home coverage, and it’s
clear to see that seniors and those nearing retirement simply can’t
afford to ignore this important issue.
How you approach your long term care needs, which
include custodial and skilled nursing in-home care, assisted living
facilities and nursing home care, depends greatly on your economic
situation. For those with low incomes and little assets, there are few
choices. Most likely, should the need for long term care arise, you’ll
quickly spend down your assets and easily qualify for Medicaid.
For those with an annual incomes exceeding $75,000
and with assets of $500,000 or more, you could simply pay for it out of
pocket. But with nursing homes costing thousands of dollars a month and
some seniors needing years of such care, even a well-lined nest egg
could experience a drastic drop in value. A more prudent approach would
be to purchase long term care insurance and use that to pay for any long
term care you or your spouse may need.
The real conundrum exists for those seniors of
moderate means, those with incomes between $30,000 and $50,000 who have
a few hundred thousand dollars in assets. Long term care needs could gut
your life savings and impoverish the healthy spouse. But long term care
insurance can be very expensive and hard for these seniors to afford.
Long term care insurance is complicated and there
are many issues you must understand when considering it. My next article
will be devoted purely to better understanding long term care insurance
and what to look for when buying it.
If purchasing long term care insurance isn’t an
option for you, there are still some strategies you can use to cover
that care should you need it. Selling your life insurance policies,
called a life settlement, is one option. Reverse mortgages can also free
up needed cash. Selling your home, however unpleasant that may be, can
also provided needed funds. But in all of these strategies it is better
to leverage those proceeds by using them to buy long term care
insurance, if possible.
But for now, let’s consider some issues that none
of us like to think about, but will greatly influence how we each
address our long term care needs. When someone is no longer able to care
for themselves, usually the healthy spouse, if there is one, will take
over the care. Few seniors, wealthy or not, are quick to dip into their
savings to hire nurses or other care givers to help out.
The result is that the healthy spouse often
sacrifices their own health and well-being to care for the sick one.
We’ve all seen it happen, how the ‘healthy’ spouse becomes exhausted and
emotionally spent trying to meet the overwhelming needs of the other.
If they’re lucky, their adult children will step in
to help shoulder the burden. Some families have gone on like this for
years, with sons and daughters spoon feeding their parents and changing
their diapers. The emotional toll on the family in these situations is
indescribable.
How much easier life is when seniors take active
steps to provide for this care properly. Then the family can spend their
emotional and physical strength on cherishing their loved one, without
ruining their own lives in the process.
No one can predict with certainty how their
end-of-life will go. But the fact remains that nearly half of all
seniors will need nursing home care. Those who don’t are likely to need
some kind of outside help. Plan now for how you’re going to provide for
your long term care. Your health, and the health of your loved ones,
depends on it.
I’ll personally respond to your questions, free of
charge.
If you have a specific question or would like more
information give me a call toll-free at 1-877-827-1463 or go to
www.guardingyourwealth.com. You can also reach me by email at
jeff@guardingyourwealth.com.
About Guarding Your Wealth:
“Guarding Your Wealth” is a
nationally syndicated weekly personal finance column written by Jeffrey
D. Voudrie, CFP. Mr. Voudrie is the President of Legacy Planning Group,
a private wealth management firm that employs sophisticated proprietary
strategies designed to protect and grow its clients' investments. Please
visit his website,
www.guardingyourwealth.com to read past articles under the Guarding
Your Wealth Article Archive.
Guarding Your Wealth for Seniors are
a collection of columns by Voudrie that deal with issues of particular
interest to senior citizens. Click here
for all columns.
In addition to being a nationally
syndicated columnist and Certified Financial Planning Practitioner, Mr.
Voudrie provides personal, private money management services to clients
nationwide.
Looking for an energetic expert who
is passionate about financial and wealth management? Mr. Voudrie is an
excellent speaker who will excite and inspire your audience. Mr. Voudrie
is available for a limited number of speaking engagements, television
appearances and radio talk shows. For booking information, email e-mail
protected from spam bots.
Click here to Search SeniorJournal.com for more on
this subject
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
