life insurance pdf
Long term care of the elderly is a concern for all because it is very likely to affect you or a loved one. In this article I will respond to 6 questions covering long-term care (LTC) concerns: What is LTC? Who needs it? Who provides help for it? What is the cost? Who Pays? What should you do about LTC?
What is LTC?
You need LTC when you need help carrying out their activities of life daily (ADL) for the foreseeable future. For older people, this means most likely for the rest of their lives. Examples of ADLs are dressing, bathing, toileting, eating, transferring from bed to the toilet and continence.
Who Needs LTC?
Boston College Center for Retirement Research (BCCRR) ( href = "http://crr.bc.edu/images/stories/Briefs/20&ib; _7-13.pdf"> http://crr.bc.edu/images/stories/Briefs/20&ib; _7-13.pdf). Found that three out of four children of 65 years is projected to need LTC in their future. The breakdown per cent of the elderly who need LTC are:
31% – do not worry
29% – 2 years or less
20% – 2 to 5 years
20% – 5 years or more
Who provides support for LTC?
Long-term caregivers do. Carers are either skilled or custodial. Custodial freedom are often friends or family caregivers, volunteers, or paid helpers. Heath care plans pay for qualified caregivers (ie, medical specialists, as doctors, nurses, etc), but only for custodial services, if these are given as part of a procedure for specialized care.
Get LTC at home, in a day center for adults living facility care, hospice or nursing home.
What is the cost of LTC?
The cost of LTC services depends on where you live and what level of long-term care he is receiving. Average annual expenditures of $ 25,000 can be for home care in the home, $ 40,000 for a rate of basic life support and $ 80,000 or more for nursing home expenses. These costs may profoundly affect their savings or legacy.
Who pays for LTC?
BCCRR The study shows that 18% of dollars spent on LTC come directly out of pocket payments by individuals. Medicaid pays about 50% of the costs of LTC, but only for those who have almost no assets, and Medicaid is to the poor. Medicare pays 20% probably as stranded costs from Medicare alone is not intended to pay the ongoing costs LTC. Only 7% of LTC dollars were paid by private LTC insurance policies.
What should you do about LTC?
Clearly, you or a loved one, will probably be necessary some type of long term care in later stages of life. And it is very expensive. You can delete all their savings or bequest if you require a year or more. So you need to plan how to handle paying the costs of LTC.
Three options for paying for LTC are:
1. Pay out of pocket (ie, their own savings)
2. Buy LTC insurance so the insurance can pay
3. Allow Medicare to pay.
Paying for LTC you need to have a lot of money – enough income to put their money not in danger of losing all his savings and his legacy. Maybe you should have at least 750,000 dollars without including home.
If you buy LTC insurance, you will pay premiums each year. This is more expensive the higher you are when you start paying them. You get tax benefits for premiums paid. But from the beginning of premiums less.
Medicaid pays for LTC expenses of a person but only if they are unable to contribute with their own money or assets to which Medicaid pays for you. Only until you have less than $ 3,000, Medicare pays for you at no cost to you. But can not simply transfer all your assets to your loved ones a day and apply for Medicaid the next. You must transfer assets away about 5 years before it is implemented.
Thus you can find that you need to consider what is the best strategy for you. Depending on your age and wealth can find a strategy that minimizes the loss of wealth to address the likelihood of needing LTC.
If you go early and transfer of assets out early, you probably can save a fortune for beneficiaries.
About the Author:
Shane Flait is an educator and writes on financial, legal, and tax issues. He tells you what the issues are all about and gives you workable strategies to accomplish your goals. Find out more and get a free report on Managing Your Retirement =>
http://www.easyretirementknowhow.com
You can contact him at contact@easyretirementknowhow.com
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Six Answers about You and Long Term Care
