The following articles are linked to Chicago Sun-Times columnist Terry Savage
We're in mass denial of long term-care reality
I'll say it again. The next great financial crisis facing our retirement assets is not another bear market. It's the cost of long term care. A new study released this week by Met Life shows that the cost of care in a nursing home now averages $70,000 a year!
Plan while you can for long term care
The cost of long term care could overwhelm your retirement savings. The average cost of one year in a nursing home is now $70,000, according to a just-released MetLife study, and full-time, home health-care can be even more expensive. Once you reach age 50, it's time to insure against long term care costs that could devastate your retirement plans.
Father knows best on investing - sometimes
Q: I have been reading your installments on long term care with relish. I am in my early 40s, and I think my husband and I should be looking into this. Those that I work with are split as to the better option: long term care insurance or personal investments. I think long term care has been stigmatized. My father insists if I buy a policy that I should have a lawyer look at it. He seems to feel that it is better to take that premium money and invest it in long term mutual funds.
A long term care policy is a financial protection
The most devastating thing that could happen to your financial future is not a bear market. It's the need for long term care--for yourself, your spouse, or your parents.
Self-insurance can be a matter of self-preservation
Q: Do you have a rule of thumb as to how much you would need in order to self-insure for long term health care? Also, if you don't need Social Security income, at what age do you recommend to begin collecting benefits?
Long-term care insurance is a must
Q: I have been considering long term care insurance it for my wife and myself. I am 58 and my wife is 59. We are retired and have a net worth of about $3 million and a pension income of $93,000 a year. Do I really need long term care insurance or should I consider myself self insured?
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