Financial Advisor, Darcy Bergen Shares his Long-term Care Advice for the Aging Population
Darcy Bergen
We all know the saying, “Only two things are certain, death and taxes.” These may be true, but there is also a very high likelihood that individuals may need long-term care in their golden years. The aging population is living longer, but not necessarily healthier, and this is causing a significant rise in long-term health care and support. Many people are surprised at how costly long-term care actually is and their equally as surprised to find out that it’s not covered under Medicare. So, what are your options when planning for future health care needs?
Financial Advisor, Darcy Bergen says, “Long-term care comes with a hefty price tag. Private duty nursing assisted living facilities, and skilled nursing homes can cost upwards of $50,000 to $150,000 per year. If you’re a wealthy person, you may take your risks and pay cash if necessary, but what about those that don’t want to risk it or succumb to future price increases? Two of the most popular options are a traditional long-term care policy or a hybrid policy.”
With a traditional long-term care policy, if the person does not use long-term care, the money is lost. This is why even for those individuals that are well-off financially, hybrid plans are becoming the better alternative. With a hybrid long-term policy, there are many benefits, and the biggest one for most is that if it’s not used, the beneficiaries receive the invested funds. Also, with a hybrid plan, many times, the amount initially invested will significantly increase if long-term care is needed. For example, if it costs $100,000 for the hybrid policy and the person needs long-term care, the amount set aside can in many cases be $200,000 to $500,000 allotted for the actual care depending on the policy specifics.
Darcy Bergen explains, “In order to afford the expense of long-term health care, many retirees are looking into hybrid whole life, hybrid indexed universal life (IUL), and hybrid annuities as alternatives to stand-alone long-term care policies. Hybrid policies are less restrictive and don’t usually have a “use it or lose it” approach to benefits. In fact, some hybrid policies offer a death benefit if the policyholder does not use long-term care benefits.”
Darcy Bergen is a financial advisor and owner of Bergen Financial Group headquartered in Peoria, Arizona. He takes particular interest in helping individuals learn the best tactics to retire with optimal reward. His passion for assisting people in building sustainable wealth and in living their best life in their golden years is based on market analysis and finances, and also their highest quality of life.