Covered today — a gap can open later
Your coverage pays for this goal at today's prices. A gap can open later, because the benefit stays the same while the cost of care keeps rising.
Steve: covered today, but a gap can open later. At age 80 (in 35 years), care would cost about $887,870 and the benefit pays $500,000, leaving about $387,870 to fund, in that year's dollars.
Your coverage pays for this goal at today's prices. A gap can open later, because the benefit stays the same while the cost of care keeps rising.
Holly: covered today, but a gap can open later. At age 80 (in 35 years), care would cost about $887,870 and the benefit pays $500,000, leaving about $387,870 to fund, in that year's dollars.
Many people will need help with daily living later in life. How it's paid for decides who chooses your care — and whether it drains what was meant for the people you care about.
What care later in life could cost, and how much of it is not yet funded.
How families protect against this. Long-term care insurance protects your savings and your choices if you need care later in life, and the family who would otherwise pay for it or provide it. Care can last years and cost more than most savings, and coverage pays toward it so it doesn't use up what was meant for others.
If one of you needed long-term care later in life, what should we plan for?
Your goal: plan for 3 years in assisted living — $225,000 in today's dollars.
Where you are: Steve has $500,000 of long-term care coverage.
| 3 years × $75,000 a year | $225,000 in today's dollars |
| The same care at age 80 (costs rising 4% a year for 35 years) | $887,870 in that year's dollars |
| $225,000 − $500,000 of coverage | fully covered |
These care costs are our own planning estimate, not a published average.
$500,000 of long-term care benefits built into Steve's permanent life policy.
This coverage is part of a life policy. If its long-term care benefits are used, the policy usually pays less when you die. Loss of Life assumes they haven't been used.
Your coverage pays for this goal at today's prices. A gap can open later, because the benefit stays the same while the cost of care keeps rising.
| When | Care would cost | Benefit pays | Left to fund |
|---|---|---|---|
| Today | $225,000 | $500,000 | Covered |
| In 5 years (Steve would be 50) | $273,747 | $500,000 | Covered |
| At age 65 (in 20 years) | $493,003 | $500,000 | Covered |
| At age 80 (in 35 years) | $887,870 | $500,000 | $387,870 |
Each row includes price rises up to that year. Care costs rise 4% a year — faster than prices in general (3%) — so care costs more the later it is needed.
There is no gap to close.
| If it happened… | The gap then |
|---|---|
| Today | $0 — no gap |
| In 5 years (Steve would be 50) | $0 — no gap |
| At age 65 (in 20 years) | $0 — no gap |
| At age 80 (in 35 years) | $387,870 |
These figures include future price rises. Long-term care coverage, where there is any, pays a set amount that does not rise.
If Steve needed care: what it would cost, by the age it starts
Your goal: plan for 3 years in assisted living — $225,000 in today's dollars.
Where you are: Holly has $500,000 of long-term care coverage.
| 3 years × $75,000 a year | $225,000 in today's dollars |
| The same care at age 80 (costs rising 4% a year for 35 years) | $887,870 in that year's dollars |
| $225,000 − $500,000 of coverage | fully covered |
These care costs are our own planning estimate, not a published average.
$500,000 of long-term care benefits built into Holly's permanent life policy.
This coverage is part of a life policy. If its long-term care benefits are used, the policy usually pays less when you die. Loss of Life assumes they haven't been used.
Your coverage pays for this goal at today's prices. A gap can open later, because the benefit stays the same while the cost of care keeps rising.
| When | Care would cost | Benefit pays | Left to fund |
|---|---|---|---|
| Today | $225,000 | $500,000 | Covered |
| In 5 years (Holly would be 50) | $273,747 | $500,000 | Covered |
| At age 65 (in 20 years) | $493,003 | $500,000 | Covered |
| At age 80 (in 35 years) | $887,870 | $500,000 | $387,870 |
Each row includes price rises up to that year. Care costs rise 4% a year — faster than prices in general (3%) — so care costs more the later it is needed.
There is no gap to close.
| If it happened… | The gap then |
|---|---|
| Today | $0 — no gap |
| In 5 years (Holly would be 50) | $0 — no gap |
| At age 65 (in 20 years) | $0 — no gap |
| At age 80 (in 35 years) | $387,870 |
These figures include future price rises. Long-term care coverage, where there is any, pays a set amount that does not rise.
If Holly needed care: what it would cost, by the age it starts
Each one shows how your result would change if something were different. They are not advice about what you should do.
Try your own what-if
If Steve needed assisted living for 3 years starting at age 80
It would cost about $887,870 at that age, in the dollars of that year ($225,000 in today's dollars). Coverage in place would pay for it — no gap.