Ask the Financial Advisor

What Is Long-Term Care Planning: Then and Now

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A: When you think about long-term care, what is the first thing that comes to mind? For many, it may be nursing homes or something associated with aging and increasing medical needs. In a broad sense this is appropriate, but much has changed in the last decade or two in regards to long-term care options and how to fund them. 

Boomers (and the next generation of retirees) need to plan for long-term care in a different way than their parents as they’re facing the unclear future of entitlement benefits and rapidly rising medical costs. And they’re living longer. When it comes to long-term care planning, many people have the “it won’t happen to me” attitude, however approximately 70 percent of people over age 65 will need some sort of long-term care assistance during retirement.1

 Evolving long-term care options: The difficult question that weighs on many people is how do you plan for these unforeseen expenses so they don’t derail retirement? When planning for long-term care costs, you have options such as earmarking savings for medical expenses or relying on entitlement benefits or family. 

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