Retiring With Long Term Care Costs In Mind

By Author: Cynthia Clarke
Total Articles: 18
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Retirement is something that every working American looks forward to. However, retiring without a definite long term care plan is like standing on the edge of a cliff as long term care costs by state continue to increase and could even double in just a matter of 13 years.

No retirement plan is complete without a clear-cut section that is intended for the planner’s future health care needs. These days, not having a long term care (LTC) plan is synonymous with suicide because three out of four Americans will need care. If you don’t happen to be among these three, you’re lucky. Then again, nobody can be so certain of his future so in case you would turn out to be one of the three who will require care in the future, all of your hard earned money will most probably go to your LTC expenses.

If you have been keeping abreast of LTC news, perhaps you already know that 70% of elderly people who are 65 years old or over will inevitably require care as this has been reiterated countless times by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Unfortunately, only about 10 million senior ...
... citizens from the 65 and older age bracket are ready to face the cost of care because majority of them have not planned their LTC needs yet.

Contrary to popular belief, LTC is not only designed for individuals who are genetically predisposed to a serious health condition that will require many years of care. According to experts in the LTC area, anyone who is 65 or older has an increased risk of acquiring arthritis, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Even those who do not have a family history in these diseases are twice as likely to acquire them.

Now if you wind up developing a chronic illness unexpectedly and require LTC subsequently, it will only take you a year or less to wipe out your assets especially if you live in one of those states that offer expensive LTC services.

Long Term Care Costs by State

The cost of LTC varies according to the population that requires it and the degree of care that is needed by a state.

U.S. states that have a higher incidence of Alzheimer’s, diabetes, arthritis, and other types of chronic diseases naturally offer more expensive LTC services. Accessibility of LTC facilities is another factor that determines a state’s LTC costs.

For instance, if people have to travel for hours just to reach the nearest hospital or nursing home this is going to subject them to huge out-of-pocket expenses. If they do not have a long term care insurance (LTCI) policy, then that would mean further expenses as they have to pay the daily rate of an LTC facility with their personal resources.

Based on a study that was conducted by Genworth Financial, a leading LTCI carrier, the most expensive states for LTC are those situated in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern regions of the country such as New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, and New Jersey among others.

Although the cost of care in the southeastern region of the country is not as high, its residents are discouraged from being complacent because long term care costs by state change yearly except that you will never see it go downslope.

We give away free long term care quote and long term care insurance costs to people who are interested in purchasing long term care policy.