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Long-term care insurance may provide the bridge to help people pursue successful retirements. Here are some ways it may help you manage your finances in retirement.

Analysts say couples will need an estimated $280,000 to cover health-care costs in their retirement. That’s a 2% increase from last year’s estimate.1

Recent research paints a bleak financial picture of retirement for many Americans.2 More than 20% of Americans have no retirement savings and a third of baby boomers have less than $25,000 saved. A recent survey concluded that 78% of Americans are “extremely” or “somewhat” worried about having adequate resources to afford a comfortable retirement.

More Americans say they plan on relying on Social Security to fund their retirement.3 Some experts predict Social Security will become insolvent by 2034 if Congress doesn’t provide additional funding.4

According to some estimates, if you started collecting benefits at the age of 62 and lived until the age of 90, you’d collect about $471,000.5 Medicare typically covers 20% of your medical bills.6

Substract the estimated health-care costs by the total in Social Security benefits and retirees may be left with $191,000 over the course of their retirements.

1. Cover costs associated with chronic illnesses

Long-term care insurance helps cover treatment costs for chronic diseases, such as arthritis, heart attacks, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and epilepsy.7 Insurance, for example, may cover the costs for caregivers to help with bathing and dressing or stays at rehabilitative or assisted living facilities.8

Here are the average annual national costs for various types of elder care:9

Assisted living and memory care: $45,000
Nursing home: $82,855
Home care aide: $40,000

2. Help fill coverage gaps

Insurance will also help retirees fill the health-care gap Medicare doesn’t cover.10 Medicare typically pays around 62% of out-of-pocket health-care costs.11 Private insurance on average pays about 13% of medical expenses. That leaves retirees 13% in out-of-pocket medical expenses.

Long-term care insurance works in conjunction with Medicare to fill those unforeseen coverage areas without affecting Medicare eligibility. 12

3. Receive a tax break from buying it

Tax incentives are available for those who buy long-term care insurance.13 Federal and many state tax codes provide tax benefits to those who get care insurance. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 established provisions for favorable tax treatment for those with qualified insurance. For more information about qualified providers, go to http://www.aaltci.org/long-term-care-insurance/free-quote/.

The IRS allows taxpayers to deduct medical expenses that include the amounts they pay for long-term care insurance.14 Taxpayers may not deduct premiums for long-term care insurance if the premiums were paid with tax-free distributions from retirement plans paid directly to insurance providers.

If you would like to discuss adding long-term care insurance to your financial plan or review your current policy, we’re more than happy to talk. Give our office a call today at 303-741-9772 to schedule your complimentary consultation.

 

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Please remember that past performance may not be indicative of future results.  Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by Dechtman Wealth Management, LLC [“DWM”]), or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this blog will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful.  Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions.  Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this blog serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from DWM. To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to his/her individual situation, he/she is encouraged to consult with the professional advisor of his/her choosing. DWM is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the blog content should be construed as legal or accounting advice. A copy of the DWM’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available for review upon request or at www.dechtmanwealth.com.

Please Note: DWM does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to DWM’s web site or blog or incorporated herein, and takes no responsibility for any such content. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly.

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