The Urban Institute estimates that 25 percent of people over 65 will need help for an extended period of time with some aspect of basic personal care—bathing, eating, getting in or out of bed or dressing. A recent study by Fidelity Investments estimated the average 65-year-old couple will need to spend an additional $85,000 on premiums for long-term care insurance. There really are only a few ways to meet this kind of need. A family member can provide care—and that’s the most common solution. Self-funding works for those who are sufficiently wealthy—but allocating such a substantial portion of retirement assets to pay for long term care may not be a smart strategy. The uncertainties help explain why long-term care insurance is gaining popularity. In this video interview, Rich Johnson–an Urban Institute expert on long term care–talks about why long term care insurance is so necessary–but complicated and challenging to buy.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 4th, 2008 at 7:24 pm and is filed under Health Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.