What’s Your Plan?

If you plan on living a long life, you’ll need more than money.

Getting older is definitely not a cakewalk. If there is one thing that is true for every living person on this planet, it is that every one of us will get older and eventually die. No one has ever figured out a way around this fact of life. 

Americans are living longer, and as more and more Americans have loved ones needing care or actually become their caregivers, the need to have a plan for long-term health care is increasingly apparent.

We downplay the risk of needing care while a lot of momentum is being given to research, medication, and anti-aging therapies, all of which most certainly extend average lifespans across the globe.

Three quarters of Americans believe that living a healthy lifestyle is the answer, but living healthy may simply increase longevity. And with longevity comes the perils of aging and the staggering costs of health care that occur when we can’t do the things we used to be able to do.

More than half of Americans say that having a spouse provide for their care is their care, yet very few spouses signed up to change diapers and most couldn’t adequately care for an aging or sick spouse, especially given their own possible health concerns. That burden then falls on their children—61% of which say they don’t want to be someone’s caregiver.  

The likelihood of depleting assets or consuming assets intended for a spouse or legacy is strong given that two of three Americans will need some type of long-term health care for at least 90 days during their later years. What’s your plan?

The insurance industry has figured out a really great solution—it’s called Asset-Based Long-Term Care. It’s like a bank CD except this one leverages up for healthcare. Think moving money from one pocket to the other with the second pocket guaranteeing you can always return the money to the original pocket—but the dollars placed in pocket “B” are bigger than pocket “A.” 

Here’s how it works: Position a lump sum in a specialty insurance contract. If you quit or things change, you get your money back or get to use it carefully to get a tax-free death benefit. If you need care, your money gets leveraged up in value by four to six times. This strategy guarantees that no matter what, you never lose! And you don’t have to buy anything.

Have the conversation with the people you love and make sure you have a plan for longevity and preserving your assets—and paying for healthcare.

Martin Levy, CLU/RHU is founder of CorpStrat/Corporate Strategies, Inc., located in Woodland Hills, CA. A 30-year insurance industry veteran and Lifetime Member of the Million Dollar Round Table, Marty is an expert in long-term care planning strategies. 818.468.0862 | Marty@CorpStrat.com.