Paying Closer Attention To My Financial Statements

Starting To Plan For Retirement? 3 Steps To Help You Plan For Long-Term Care At The Same Time

19 February 2018

Barb Morgan

If you're starting to think about retirement, you should also start thinking about long-term care. While no one ever wants to think about long-term care, it can be disastrous to put it off. It only takes one significant illness or injury to make long-term care a necessity. If you haven't prepared for the inevitable, you could find yourself without the care you need. That's the last thing you want to have happen. Now that you're planning your retirement, here are three steps you should take to include long-term care in your plans.

Meet with a Financial Planner

When it comes to planning for long-term care, the first thing you need to do is sit down with a financial planner. A financial planner will be able to help you identify your needs, as well as your ability to pay. Not only that, but they'll also help you identify key strategies you can use to save for your eventual need for long-term care. If you have significant assets, you'll need a financial planner to help you downsize your assets so that you can qualify for medicare benefits. The last thing you want is to be denied benefits because you own too many assets. There are ways to downsize your assets, but you'll need to start doing that before the need for medicare/medicaid benefits arises.

Compare the Costs of the Available Care Options

When planning for long-term care, it's important that you compare the costs of the available options. You'll also need to identify the type of care you'll want. For instance, long-term care can be provided in a variety of settings, including home settings. Each option comes with it's own costs, which you'll need to identify during the planning stage. Knowing the costs of the various care options, as well as the care that you'll receive with each option, will help you plan accordingly.

Start Planning Early

When it comes to long-term care, it's best that you start planning as soon as possible. You don't want to wait until you've entered retirement to start planning for the eventual need for long-term care. Instead, you should start planning for long-term care at least ten years before you reach retirement age. Starting early will ensure that you're prepared should the need arise. It will also alleviate the stress when you reach retirement age. Not only that, but preparing early will give you the opportunity to invest in long-term care insurance, before you reach the age where you are no longer eligible for initial coverage.

Contact a company, like ARTAAD Financial, for more help.

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