Cantissimo Senior Living Blog

Planning for long-term care expenses seems to involve a lot of wishful thinking for many. As noted in another Cantissimo Senior Living blog post, a survey found that about half of respondents said they had done little or no planning for these needs.

One example of wishful thinking is that government programs like Medicare or Medicaid will pay long-term care expenses.

When it comes to preparing for retirement, most consumers have only a vague idea about planning for potential long-term care expenses. Yet, well over half of Americans 65 or older will eventually require some form of long-term care.

There are multiple ways to pay for long-term care. However, the potentially enormous costs could quickly exhaust one's assets. An attractive alternative for managing this considerable risk could be long-term care insurance (LTCI).

Most of us have heard of a Health Savings Account (HSA), but many don't understand the important details about these accounts.

HSAs were intended to provide a way for Americans to save money for out-of-pocket healthcare expenses before meeting the deductible of a high deductible health plan (HDHP). In fact, an individual or family must have an HDHP to open an HSA.

HSAs were primarily intended to soften the financial burden of healthcare expenses for HDHP account holders of all age groups. However, an HSA can be particularly advantageous in paying for long-term care expenses at age 65 or over.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimated in 2020 that 50-70% of those now turning 65 will eventually need some level of long-term care.

Yet, few people include a long-term care component in their retirement planning. It seems like more people plan for their children's college education than for the very costly and highly probable reality of long-term care. Assumptions that typically drive this lack of planning are: