by Trish Sneddon, CSA, CLTC, MMA Counselor
I am often asked when the optimum time to buy Long-Term Care Insurance is. Does it make sense to wait until I’m older and save those years of premium payments? Isn’t this an insurance I should buy at retirement?
The truth is one answer does not work for all cases. However, the most important consideration is to get long-term care insurance while you are still healthy. There is no guarantee you will not have health problems by retirement age.
Risks at a Younger Age
I have younger friends and clients who have cancer, paralysis due to accidents, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis—all conditions which make them either uninsurable or insurable at much higher rates. Insurance studies have found about 40 percent of those needing long-term care services, including long-term home health care, are under 65 years old. These facts suggest that this is an insurance to consider when you are younger.
Buy Early, Pay Less
Long-term care insurance premiums are also considerably lower when applied for at a younger age. My cost comparisons show if you wait and buy at an older age when the premiums are a lot higher, you will end up spending more over a shorter period of years than if you had applied at a younger age and paid lower premiums over a longer period of years. Even if you are not sure that now is the time to commit to buying long-term care insurance, now is a good time to come in and talk to us about it so you are educated about the costs and coverage.
FIFS Connection, Winter 2007, Vol.4, No.1
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