• Long-term care (LTC) can be expensive, and it's important to plan ahead for potential long-term care needs.
• Primary criteria for long-term care is the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs), which involve mobility, eating, bathing, dressing, and managing household tasks.
• Medicare does NOT cover LTC

Cost of Caregiving

No one wants to be a burden on their family and proper planning makes sure you are taken care of. Most LTC insurance is expensive and you lose it if you don't use it and requires a health evaluation, so it's best to buy many, many years before needing it. There are several hybrid and alternative ways to pay for LTC, for example Life Insurance, Reverse Mortgage, an Annuity, or a Trust.

The LongTermCare.gov website is full of valuable information and you can find the cost of care link on their website or here is the link (Cost of Care), which is where the tables above came from.

Other Significant Things to Consider:

Where you want to be taken care of and by whom. It's important to have written instructions to address your physical, emotional, and financial needs should your quality of life begin to decline. I'd be happy to send you a template and help write a letter to your family. christaretirewise@gmail.com

Also, it's critical to understand the tax implications on the larger withdrawl from accounts used to pay for LTC. There are many options where the money withdrawn and used for LTC is NOT TAXED.