Long Term Care Insurance as an Employee Benefit

Nearly 60% of Americans over the age of 50 are worried about the costs of long-term care, while only 16% feel prepared financially, according to a recent study supported by the insurance industry.

The study was sponsored by Sun Life Financial and conducted by Kelton Research.

The study found that almost two thirds of Americans currently do not feel financially prepared to meet the growing costs of late-in-life healthcare (regarding either in-home help, assisted living, or nursing care options) with only 16 percent of respondents actually confident they could handle these financial burdens.

According to the study, the most consistent problem mentioned when preparing for late-in-life care has been the lack of understanding most Americans have about what the true costs of said care will be. Even accounting for the most conservative estimates of inflation over the next 30 years, the average cost of long term care calculated was more than double of what respondents were expecting.

According to the Consumer Price Index, the current nursing home rate for a private room is US$85,000 and the projected rate by 2030 is US$190,000, not the mere 56 percent rise to US$125,000 most respondents anticipated. The figures also reveal that 24/7 in-home care rate will currently cost US$184,000 a year, and an estimated US$272,000 by 2030 and 40 hour a week in-home care runs US$44,000 a year, rising to $65,000 by 2030.

Sources: Excerpted from McKnight’s Long Term Care News and International Insurance News

Tags: Federal long-term care plan, Financial planning, Long-term care, Long-term care education, Long-term care planning strategies, LTC, LTCI, Paying for assisted living, Paying for nursing homes, Wealth preservation | Filed under: Uncategorized