From Kiplinger · · 2m
Why her long-term care policy shouldn't match his
A financial planner explains why he'd build his wife's long-term care policy on different numbers than his own.
In brief
A financial planner explains why he'd build his wife's long-term care policy on different numbers than his own. Women need longer, larger, inflation-protected long-term care coverage, because they live longer and are far more likely to end up in a facility. Originally reported by Kiplinger.
The advice keeps moving
A planner who teaches this stuff says his long-term care guidance today looks nothing like what he told clients ten years ago. Treat old rules of thumb as expired.
“Ten years ago, the advice I was giving clients on LTC planning was totally different than it is today.”
It starts with longevity
Women outlive men, so a married woman usually becomes her husband's caregiver first. When he dies, nobody is left to care for the caregiver.
“Once he passes, there is no spouse to take care of the caretaker, so she is forced to hire someone or enter a community.”
Who actually fills the beds
More than 70% of nursing home residents are women, per the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. The risk is not spread evenly across a marriage.
“Over 70% of nursing home residents are women”
Buy a longer benefit period
His firm starts at four years of coverage for women and two for men. LongTermCare.gov puts average need at 3.7 years for women against 2.2 for men.
Pools of money, not years
Many newer hybrid policies drop the year count and give you a total dollar pool instead. Same question, different unit: how much care can this actually buy.
Custodial care versus skilled nursing
Care often starts with someone helping you cook, clean and move around at home. For women it more often ends in skilled nursing, which is medical care and costs far more.
Raise the benefit amount
Because women are the ones most likely to reach the expensive end of care, he sizes up the monthly benefit or the funding pool for a wife over a husband.
The inflation rider matters most
Women tend to use care later, so the gap between a 3% and a 5% rider compounds into wildly different payouts. Simple interest and compounding riders diverge hard over 25 years.
“3% vs 5% over a long period of time compounds to two very different numbers.”
Fit the policy to the person
Start with the plan: if your assets are large and your expenses low, you may self-fund. If there is a need, measure it and build coverage around it.
“Just as you wouldn't buy a custom suit made for someone else, you shouldn't buy a long-term care policy that doesn't fit you.”
Here's the gist
Women need longer, larger, inflation-protected long-term care coverage, because they live longer and are far more likely to end up in a facility.
