Do you need long term care insurance? I don’t know.
I can tell you that you should definitely prepare for the expense of long-term care, including memory care. Purchasing some type of insurance policy to offset the risk of facing this expense could be a part of your plan and maybe not.
If you can self-insure, I suggest considering going that route. Have your financial professional run several cash-flow scenarios to see if your financial plan can absorb the expense of a long-term care event. And don’t low-ball the cost estimate. The published rates for assisted living and memory care are just the entry point and increased levels of care are going to increase the cost even more.
If you can comfortably self-insure, that’s great. If not, consider a long-term care policy. Remember, someone is going to bear the expense and often this expense comes in the form of time, energy, and emotional labor from an unpaid, informal caregiver. This informal caregiver is usually a child and often a daughter. So, what I tell my clients is that you don’t buy long term care insurance coverage for you, you buy it for your kids to make the tough decisions they are going to have to make a little less difficult.
Another thing I can tell you is that every client I have that has cared for their own parents or has witnessed their own parents care for a loved one, they almost always buy long term care coverage for themselves. Not all, but most. And it is always because they don’t want their kids to go through what they or their parents did.
Hope this helps and take care!
Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor, Member FINRA/ SIPC.