Long-term care includes a broad range of health and support services that people need as they age or if they are disabled. These services include personal care and assistance with daily tasks such as eating, dressing, bathing, and performing household chores, often referred to as activities of daily living. Long-term care services can be provided at home, at a nursing home, in an assisted living facility, or an adult day care center.

Why is it important?

70% of people over the age of 65 will need long-term care services. (American Council of Life Insurers. Long-Term Care Insurance). While family members may be able to provide some of these services, paid care may be needed to supplement family-provided services as care and support needs increase.  However, the cost of quality long-term care can be very expensive.  

Medicare will pay for skilled care at home or in a nursing home or rehabilitation facility for a limited time following a hospital stay, but it will not cover most long-term care costs. Medicaid provides long-term coverage only to those with limited income and resources: usually, before a person can qualify for Medicaid, they must “spend down” or exhaust most of their personal financial resources. Additionally, most private health insurance plans do not cover long-term care. Planning for long-term care expenses is an important part of retirement planning that is often overlooked. Insurance can help protect retirement assets and allow for more choice in types of care and care settings.

• Bathing: Washing oneself, including grooming like brushing teeth and shaving.
• Dressing: Choosing and putting on clothes.
• Eating/Feeding: Getting food from plate to mouth after it's prepared.
• Toileting: Getting to and from the toilet, using it, and cleaning oneself.
• Transferring: Moving from one surface to another, like from a bed to a chair.Con
• Continence: Controlling bladder and bowel functions. 

• Women are Caregivers: Women are more likely than men to be caregivers to children, spouses, and aging family members. In fact, 75%of those providing family caregiving at home are female. Providing long-term care for others can have a significant impact on a woman’s finances since many women reduce their hours or leave the workforce altogether to care for family members and loved ones.
• Women Live Longer Than Men: Currently, a woman who reaches age 65 can expect to live another 21.5 years to age 86.5, about 2.5 years longer than the life expectancy for a man reaching age 65. One of every three 65-year olds today will live past age 90.
• Women are Unable to Afford Long-Term Care: As women grow older, they are more likely to live alone, without a spouse or other family member to provide them with the very care that they have provided for others: 55% of women age 65 or older are widowed, divorced, or never married.5 As a result, these women have no one in their household to help with daily activities.  They may need to pay for long-term care services, but may not have the resources to do it: the median income of women age 65 or older in was $20,637 (in comparison, the median income for men was $36,370).  This is only about one-fifth of what it costs to live in a nursing home for one year.
• Women Need More Long-Term Care Than Men: At the end of their lives, women spend twice as many years in a disabled state as men do: 2.8 years if they live past 65, 3 years if they live past 80. 2 out of 3 people in a nursiing home are women.

Life with long-term care (LTC) riders are add-ons to permanent life insurance (whole or universal life) that let you use part of your death benefit to pay for qualifying long-term care services (like in-home help or nursing homes) if you become unable to care for yourself, offering financial flexibility by tapping into your policy's value for care while preserving some benefit for beneficiaries if unused. This product addresses the "use it or lose it" problem of traditional LTC insurance.

• Access Funds Early: Instead of waiting for death, you can access a percentage of your death benefit (e.g., 2-4% monthly) for care expenses while living.
• Cover Care Needs: Pays for assistance with daily activities (bathing, dressing) or skilled nursing, adult day care, and hospice.
• Reduces Death Benefit: Using the rider lowers the payout to your beneficiaries, though some policies offer extension riders to maintain coverage.
• Waiting Period: Most riders have a 30-90 day waiting period after a qualifying diagnosis before benefits start.
• Flexibility: If you don't need the LTC benefit, the remaining death benefit goes to your heirs.

Key considerations:

• Cost: Premiums are higher than a basic life policy.
• Coverage Limits: May not cover all potential LTC costs.
• Underwriting: Requires medical approval, potentially an exam.
• Policy Type: Typically added to permanent policies (Whole Life, Universal Life), not usually term life. 

Hybrid long-term care (LTC) insurance is a single policy that combines life insurance (or an annuity) with long-term care coverage. The key appeal is that it eliminates the "use it or lose it" concern of traditional LTC policies: you either use the benefits for care or your beneficiaries receive a death benefit.           

Key features of Hybrid long term care policies are:

• Long-Term Care Benefits: If you need long-term care (typically triggered by the inability to perform two or more "activities of daily living," such as bathing or dressing), you can access the policy's value to pay for covered expenses like in-home care, assisted living, or nursing home stays.
• Life Insurance Benefits: If you never use the LTC benefits, or only use a portion, your beneficiaries receive the remaining amount as a tax-free death benefit upon your death.
• Guaranteed Premiums: Unlike traditional LTC insurance, which can have premium increases over time, hybrid policies typically offer guaranteed level premiums that are set at the time of purchase and will not rise.
• Payment Flexibility: You can pay for the policy with a single lump sum, or over a set period (e.g., 5, 10, or 20 years), rather than ongoing payments for life.
• Cash Value: Many policies build cash value, which may be surrendered for a partial refund if you decide to cancel the policy later.
• Easier Qualification (Sometimes): Some hybrid policies may offer "simplified health underwriting," making them an option for individuals who might not qualify for a traditional, medically underwritten policy. 

Don't be a Burden to the People you Love and the Legacy You've Built Your Entire Life