Helping 50+ British Columbians plan and live successful and secure retirements

What do you want to have happen when you or your spouse has a Living Assistance or Long Term Care need?

What are the chances? Age 25-54:10%; Age 55-64:25%; Age 65-74:40%; Age 75-84:65%; Age 85+:80% [based on percent of population using care facilities or services; approximated from Stats.Can and Health Associations for 1999]

Why Long Term Care Insurance?

Are you prepared in case a future accident, illness, or simply the effects of aging require living assistance for you or your loved ones? Can you afford, or do you want your retirement funds and assets to be depleted for care costs?

Statistics clarify the need:

• 4 out of 5 seniors living at home suffers from a chronic health condition
• 1 in 4 seniors has a long-term disability or handicap in retirement
• Alzheimer's or other dementias affect 1 in 9 people between age 75 and 84, and 1 in 3 over age 85
• Incidence of injury increases with age: seniors age 85+ are 70% more likely to suffer an injury that limits activity than seniors age 65-74
• Falls are the main cause of senior injury: 65% of all senior injury
• The risk of stroke doubles every 10 years after age 55; strokes are the leading cause of transfer from hospital to a long term care facility
  (stats Can. on Canada's aging population)
  

Have you answered these basic questions about this issue?

• Do I have the funds to pay for future care costs not covered by government health services?
• Am I willing to liquidate assets to pay for care needs?
• What are my options if I don't have the funds for home care, or a private care facility?
• Do I want my spouse or children to make sacrifices to care for me, or provide basic care such as bathing and toileting?

Long Term Care Insurance can pay for the costs associated with a Living Assistance, or Long Term Care need. It protects your assets from being depleted due to a disability requiring living assistance. It's a form of disability insurance available with lifetime coverage and a benefit period until you recover, or for your remaining life.
(limited benefit periods are also available for lower premiums)

This insurance is available between age 21 - 80. The earlier it's started, the lower the cost. Policies can be paid up - meaning you stop paying after 20 years and your coverage continues for life.

Inflation protection options are also available to keep pace with cost of living increases, both for the life of the policy and while on claim.

What does it mean to be "on claim"?

Claims are based on the need for assistance with "Activities Of Daily Living". These include basic activities such as dressing, eating, bathing, moving to or from bed or chair, using the toilet and being continent. Loss of independent function with 2 or more of these activities, and/or the need for supervision due to deteriorated mental capability, constitutes a claim.

Uses for the benefit income can include:

• providing you options of assisted living accomodation and care
• modifications to your home to allow "in home care"
• home nursing services
• paying a family member who needs to take time away from work to provide care
• paying for cleaning & cooking help
• any other purpose you decide to use it for

Long Term Care Insurance isn't like the disability insurance most people are familiar with during employment years. It doesn't replace a portion of employment income - it provides additional income. It's unrelated to employment status and there is no income testing such as with other individual or group disability insurance.

Long Term Care Insurance is primarily designed to protect people during retirement years - however it's also an effective supplemental protection during working years. Starting a plan during working years is the most cost effective way to have lifetime coverage.

Some people might say it's better to invest the money and be "self-insured".
Let's look at that option: Long Term Care Insurance - or invest the money?
The following chart shows one example of the difference:

The red line shows a 50 year old man paying $97 a month premium, for 20 years, for a lifetime benefit of $500 a week. At age 70 he requires Assisted Living of some kind.
The total potential benefit is over $500,000 at a total cost of $23,280. The income continues for as long as he is on a claim or until death.

The blue line shows the same man investing the $97 a month at 10% compound interest for a total fund of $73,659 at age 70 when he needs the money for Assisted Living care. Spending the same $500 week, the money is exhausted after 3.3 years. Of course if a claim occurs earlier, less money would be available.

Some people say "the goverment plan will take care of me if I need living assistance or long term care". The truth is that government services have been cut back while the need has increased. With the coming "Age Wave" of aging boomers, where seniors population is going steadily up relative to employed tax payers, which way do you think this trend of service cutbacks is likely to go?

For more on a forecast of government social services - read the attached publication from an analyst with BC STATS, Ministry of Government Services: Consequences of an Aging Population: Can Existing Levels of Social Services be Sustained? (you'll need a PDF reader to view this)

The conclusion says this " It will likely take a combination of efficiency improvements, increased revenues, and sound fiscal management on the part of the government in order to ensure the sustainability of social services at their current levels in BC. The absence of any one of these factors will leave British Columbia in a precarious position with respect to the quality and availability of its social services."

Let's think about these 3 factors considered mandatory in maintaining service levels to keep us from a "precarious position":

"sound fiscal management" by government - do we need to say more about any assurance of this from election to election?
"increased revenues" - this same paper points out that by 2021 the over 65 population will be about the same as the under 19 population (in 1971 the under 19 population was 4xs larger). ie. more and more retired people who use their highest level of service in senior years vs. fewer new tax payers. Add that to stats on projected cost growth - a 70% rise in social service costs from 1990/91 to 2015/16. Does this spell increased revenues?
"efficiency improvements" - government speak for cut-backs and withdrawal of "non-essential" services.

Also see Care Years Planning to learn what the government plan covers now compared to typical costs.

          Choose your options - start planning your future Now!

The best policy is one that fits your budget and provides the greatest number of options - providing you monthly tax free income to spend however you see fit!

For more information, to receive quotes and discuss this coverage with a qualified specialist
email info@BCsenioradvisor.com

NB. Please note that we do not send out anonymous quotes by email. This is a complex product that requires careful consideration and should be discussed with a specialist who can match a plan to your needs and goals. We would be pleased to facilitate a no-obligation contact between you and a Long Term Care insurance specialist in your area who'll be glad to provide you all the information you want.

Top