Today we’re going to answer one of the two or three biggest questions that people tend to have about their retirement plan. As you look ahead to retirement and the largest expenses you might incur, long-term care will always be a part of that discussion. So does everyone need long-term care insurance?

This can be a broad conversation but it addresses one of the top concerns for retirees. For people who have planned properly and feel good about the income they have coming in for retirement, they want to identify areas where problems could arise and health issues and long-term care or assisted living is one of those areas that need attention.  

We brought Heath Grossman, CFP® onto the podcast to help you understand the different aspects of this conversation that ultimately guide you to an answer to this important question.

This discussion really starts with the protection and preservation of assets. If you have assets you want to protect or you’re concerned about having money to pass on to a spouse or family, then you want to look at this insurance as a way to prevent long-term care from eating into everything you’ve saved and accumulated.

When the topic comes up, one of the common responses we hear is that LTC insurance is expensive. That’s not incorrect, and that’s something you’ll need to factor into your decision whether or not to get the policy. If it makes sense to pay that premium relative to the size of your nest egg, then that might be the right choice. But if it’s going to cost you so much that you end up paying down so much of what you’re trying to protect, than it’s probably not a very reasonable option.

You will also need to make sure your health and any issues you might face there won’t preclude you from being able to secure a policy. That can be a roadblock for people and might take the insurance option completely off the table.

If LTC insurance isn’t an option for you, there are other ways to prepare for that possible expense. We can work with you to evaluate the planning options that make the most sense for you, but they could include other types of insurance or investment accounts. There are also ways to protect your assets so that they don’t get taken from you, and we’ll lay out some of those on the podcast as well.

No matter what, though, you want to have a conversation about long-term care with us or your financial professional to make sure you’ve accounted for that significant expense in retirement. You can start by getting our Money Map book that will start laying out that roadmap and some of the questions that we need to get answered, including this one about long-term care insurance.

Here’s some of what we discuss in this episode:

• What’s important is to understand that it’s about protection and preserving assets.

• You need to evaluate the cost of the insurance relative to the value of what you’re trying to protect.

• Using alternative insurance options or investment accounts to plan for long-term care.

• What are some other ways people protect their assets if they don’t have insurance?