The need for long-term care varies greatly among retirees, new research shows

One of the biggest unknowns for retirees may be whether they will eventually need long-term care म्हणजे that is, help with daily life tasks आणि and to what extent.

According to new research from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, most people need a little care if they need a little care. About 20% of 65-year-olds will not need any long-term care for the rest of their lives, and one in five will only need minimal help.

At the same time, however, about 25% will need significant help for more than three years. Another 38% will fall somewhere in the middle, requiring moderate care for one to three years, the study found.

A strong indicator of how much help a person will need? According to the study, they are healthy in the late 60’s.

In addition, being married reduces the chances of long-term care, research says. For women, 19% of married people do not need it at all, compared to 14% of unmarried people. For men, they do not need support if 17% are unmarried and 13% are married.

The uncertainty of long-term care when it comes to retirement planning is a challenge, experts say. In other words, deciding how to prepare for an unknown expense can be difficult.

“There are no good answers, just disgusting,” said David Mendels, certified financial planner and director of planning at Creative Financial Concepts in New York. “So you choose your best rude answer.”

Medicare बहुतेक mostly dependent on retirees नाही does not usually provide long-term care. (Skilled nursing care and rehabilitation services receive limited coverage regarding specific hospital stays.)

Monthly costs for such help can be eye-popping: an average of, 4,300 ($ 51,600 per year) for care in a support-living facility, $ 7,756 ($ 93,072 per year) for a semi-private room in a nursing home, and, 4,576 ($ 54,912 per year) for a home health assistant. , 4,481 for housewife services ($ 53,772 per year)

“If you need significant care in that group, it’s very expensive,” Mendels said. “But you really have no idea if you need it, unless you already know you have big health problems.”

So what are your options? There are many.

Some retirees choose “self-insurance” म्हणजे that is, relying on their own assets देतात to fund unforeseen expenses. This could mean spending your retirement savings, taking out a mortgage, or, say, selling a vacation home. Other options include leaning on or reducing (or protecting) family members to qualify for Medicaid-sponsored nursing-home care.

The simplest solution दीर्घ long-term care insurance प्रस्ताव has become a very expensive proposition for many customers, leading to a 60% drop in sales from 2012 to 2018, according to Secure Retirement Organization. With more claims than expected, many insurance companies have also left the space.

According to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, the average annual premium price for a 60-year-old couple with an initial benefit of $ 165,000 ranges from $ 2,600 to $ 8,750.

However, according to the association, there is a 50% chance that you will never need to use insurance.

Some consultants recommend that clients consider a hybrid policy that combines life insurance with long-term care coverage. This can be done through a new purchase or by converting an existing policy – term or whole – into an option.

Although the details of each policy are different, the idea is that if you need to pay for help, you can take advantage of death in your lifetime – doing so reduces the amount your heirs will receive. Some hybrid options provide long-term care beyond the benefits of death.

However, you generally need to be insurable म्हणजे that is, pass medical underwriting ज like a straightforward long-term care strategy.

You also usually need a pot of money to fund. Some insurance companies ask for a lump sum in advance, while others allow you to spread premium payments over certain years.

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