Forbes Archives - Long Term Care Insurance Expert | Honey Leveen

What are the Best LTCi Options?

February 19, 2016 by Honey Leave a Comment

In part one of his two part series about understanding long-term care insurance (LTCi), Forbes columnist Wade Pfau describes how LTCi prices are determined. He explains what an elimination period is, what a benefit period is, what a monthly benefit is, and what a LTCi “pool of money” or “benefit bank” is. He also describes different types of inflation protection.

In part two of the series What Are The Best Coverage Options for LTCi? Dr. Pfau describes the types of care LTCi covers and what entitles you to collect from your LTCi.

One thing is clear from reading these articles: LTCi is complex. No matter how bright someone is, ethical advice, preferably from an experienced LTCi specialist like me, is necessary for one to make a confident, wise decision on affordable LTCi they’ll be satisfied with for the rest of their life.

Mr. Pfau actually recommends having an elder law attorney study review LTCi contracts. This is unnecessary. Elder law attorneys generally specialize in wills, trusts, probate, etc, not insurance contracts. In addition, today’s LTCi policies generally have straightforward language a college educated consumer can read and understand. An experienced agent can and will confirm what the contract language means. The elder law attorneys I know are not particularly astute on LTCi contracts. A few of them are clients who relied on me for advice.

I’ve loved Dr. Pfau’s Forbes LTC series because he is so credible and astute. He expresses complexities in easy-to-understand language. He has truly done readers a service with this LTCi series.

As much as I respect and admire him, I think he’s wrong about some minor details, but as a whole, he really gets things right. This series is powerful and useful.

Two Options for Funding LTC Expenses

January 27, 2016 by Honey Leave a Comment

In his January 12, 2016 Forbes column, Wade Pfau describes why Medicare, Medicaid and health insurance do not pay for long-term care (LTC). This column describes what can and often does happen, financially and psychologically, even to highly affluent people, when LTC planning is ignored and people wind up self funding for LTC with personal assets.

Mr. Pfau has heart. He gives us facts, but he also shares accurate human insights. He wisely urges people to prepare now for their last years, and to share their plans with those they most trust.

This piece is accurate, accessible and concise.

He states, “For self funding, ask yourself if you have sufficient financial resources to cover an expensive long-term care shock and still meet the remaining financial goals for retirement. Which specific resources could be used for long-term care expenses? How will they be invested? What impact would these expenditures have on the standard of living for remaining household members and potential beneficiaries? Is this a risk that can be accepted, or could insurance provide a positive impact by helping pool this risk?”

“Self funding could force an individual to rely more greatly on family care, which introduces a number of potential opportunity costs not included in formal cost calculations. Caregivers often experience increased stress and health problems, and they could be forced to make sacrifices in their careers that could result in substantially reduced lifetime earnings. The health problems created by providing long-term care could potentially result in the caregiver needing long-term care for themselves as well.”

Costs and Incidence of Long-Term Care

January 25, 2016 by Honey Leave a Comment

In his January 5, 2016 Forbes column titled “Costs and Incidence of Long-Term Care”, columnist Wade Pfau explicitly describes how likely it is any of us will need long-term care (LTC).

He states the most credible research he found determined that 58% of men and 79% of women aged 65 and older would need LTC at some point, and that average lengths for care were 2.2 years for men and 3.7 years for women. 38% of men and 63% of women will require care for one year or longer, while 11% of men and 28% of women will need care for at least 5 years.

He correctly explains people are not statistics. Statistics are irrelevant if you are the one needing LTC and you have not properly planned for it.

Mr. Pfau also correctly notes study results vary but the big picture is the odds are needing LTC are very high.

He accurately explains what LTC is.

He quotes average annual rates nationally for assisted living are $43,000/year and a private nursing home room is $91,250/year. A five year stay in a nursing home would cost $456,250 in today’s dollars.

Mr. Pfau explains that LTC costs vary and are regional. He gives the link to the newest Genworth Cost of Care Study, so people can determine a more precise cost of care in their locale.

What I find so entirely cool about Mr. Pfau is that he’s a fee-based financial planner. Unlike me, he is not a commission-based advisor who needs to sell products to make a living. He is an insightful thinker with a clear, common-sense, accessible writing style. He has an accurate view of the Big Picture and the necessity of responsible LTC planning.

In other words, he is interested in helping people create and achieve wealth – many financial planners can do that – but more importantly, once clients achieve wealth, he clearly understands the things they must do to preserve it.

The Continuum of Care

January 20, 2016 by Honey Leave a Comment

Forbes has recently done some outstanding, insightful reporting on long-term care (LTC). I am very grateful for this. It’s a welcome and deserved change from typical error-riddled LTC coverage.

Their contributor Wade Pfau, a professor at The American College and principal at McLean Asset Management, really “gets” LTC. More importantly, he has a writing style that makes complicated concepts clear and simply understood by readers.

In is January 7, 2016 column he lists and describes the LTC continuum. I don’t remember ever having seen it laid out so clearly and accurately.

He explains why Medicare only pays for short duration skilled needs under certain conditions. He explains the difference between skilled and custodial care. It’s custodial care that is bankrupting so many Americans financially, emotionally, and health-wise.

He lists excellent questions to ask of facilities.

I am very grateful for Mr. Pfau’s columns. They do the public a true service.

Examining Long-Term Care Insurance

January 19, 2016 by Honey Leave a Comment

In his January 14, 2016 column, Forbes contributor Wade Pfau describes what traditional health-based long-term care insurance (LTCi) is. He describes what determines LTCi prices and gives sound advice on when to buy it.

Mr. Pfau has keen insight that enables him to make complicated things easy to understand.

I love that Mr. Pfau hints at what can happen psychologically to affluent families who must self-insure when a LTC event occurs. He describes this in more detail in his December 22, 2015 Forbes column.

I also love the fact that Mr. Pfau is a financial planner. Far too many financial planners, just like the public in general, do not address LTC planning. After all, LTCi is complicated, and planning for it is a highly unpleasant subject for many.

He states, “At some point, wealth may be sufficient to self-fund long-term care expenses, but reasonable individuals may still decide to include insurance in their plans as part of an overall risk management strategy.”

An unforeseen, expensive “spending shock,” caused by an unplanned long-term care event, can wreak unnecessary, avoidable financial, mental, and physical havoc on families and estates.

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What are the Best LTCi Options?

Two Options for Funding LTC Expenses

Costs and Incidence of Long-Term Care

The Continuum of Care

Examining Long-Term Care Insurance

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