Long-term care insurance is one of the few ways to protect retirement savings. But it’s not cheap. The average insurance premium for those between age 55 and 64 was $2,261 a year for policies sold in 2010, according to a 2012 AARP report.
The price of long-term care premiums are not locked in, so the cost can increase over time, says Byron Udell, founder and president of AccuQuote. And people often don’t like to buy a long-term care insurance policy because if they never need it, their money goes down the drain.
There is no cookie-cutter solution. “A lot of it comes down to figuring out your budget and your biggest risks,” says Steve Sperka, Northwestern Mutual vice president of long-term care. If long-term care insurance seems too expensive, you can decide to only insure a portion of the risk. At least you would have some retirement security, he says.
The insurance industry also has begun to offer hybrid products that address some of the concerns. For example, some life insurance policies have a rider for long-term care insurance. If the policy holder never needs long-term care, the family receives the life insurance benefit.
Contact me if you want to read more, I will email you the article!