When we show clients the “11 Pillars of Wealth” consisting of “7 Gears of Riches” and “4 Wealth Drains” we show them one of the “7 Gears” is long term care. It is not the gear anyone wants to focus on because it isn’t sexy and it can even be depressing. Nobody wants to ponder needing long term care for our day-to-day needs.

However, in structuring a long term financial and retirement plan that one gear is the one that can destroy all the other pillars if not considered and a plan made. Most people’s plans for long term care are hope or wishing that fate won’t affect you or your spouse. This is why a super minority of families have any kind of plan for long term care.

By not having a plan they are putting all their money at risk if they ever need long-term care for an extended period of time.

Here are some government statistics:

1. 73% of people who reach the age of 65 will need some form of long-
   term care during their lifetimes
2. 30% of those will need “extended long term care” which is defined as
   5 years or more
3. A private room at a facility is currently over $10,000 per month as a
   national average
4. Only 7 to 10% of people report to have some kind of long-term care
   insurance

So, let’s assume you are going to live past 65 years of age. Now 73% of you will need some kind of long-term care coverage but only 10% at most have any kind of coverage. That means you will pay out of pocket for any long-term care expenses.

What about Medicare? Medicare is not designed for long-term care but rather for acute health care for conditions that can be managed or cured. There is short term coverage upon leaving a hospital to go to a rehab facility but that will generally not suffice.

What about Medicaid? Before Medicaid kicks in you have to spend down almost every dollar you have to pay for those expenses and once it runs out you are in the government’s hands and take care they dictate to you and your family. You are basically indigent before Medicaid will take over for your care. No estate for children or grandchildren because no plan was made for long term care.

Does anyone want to work their entire lives to give all their money back to a health care facility or the government? If the answer is no, it is time to develop a plan. The good news is there are hybrid programs that merge long term care benefits with other financial products. Unlike traditional long term care policies which have a use it or lose it feature, there are programs that have a use it if you need it and if not, leave it behind for your family feature.

Lastly, almost everyone reading this has a homeowner’s policy to ensure you if your house burns down. Yet you only have about a 7% chance of ever making a claim. You have coverage on your cars and yet the chance of a total on your cars is less than 15%.

You have a way higher chance of needing long-term care and if it is for an extended period of time, you could easily spend more than your house and cars out of pocket. Yet despite these numerical facts you are still wishing and hoping for long-term care not to knock on your door.

We have solutions that require you to simply readjust some of your capital and hold it in a different account. That account will give you long-term care protection by leveraging those funds into a large amount of money for long term care and if you never need the long-term care coverage, the money in the account will go to your family upon your passing.

Heads you win, tails you win even bigger. Contact us today for a no obligation interview to set up the best plan for you and your family. wealthwithoutstocks@gmail.com