{"id":28571,"date":"2014-09-10T19:12:38","date_gmt":"2014-09-10T23:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/09\/long-term-care-financial-plan.html"},"modified":"2014-09-10T19:12:38","modified_gmt":"2014-09-10T23:12:38","slug":"long-term-care-financial-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/09\/long-term-care-financial-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Term Care – Hole In Financial Plan?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\"flanagan.jpg\"\n<\/div>\n
James Flanagan, wealth advisor, Sterling Manor Financial LLC in Saratoga Springs\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

By James Flanagan<\/p>\n

Retirement gets a lot of attention lately
\nand rightfully so. Stories documenting the
\ndecline of pensions and the pressure on Social
\nSecurity have become common.<\/p>\n

The vital importance of individuals planning
\nand saving for retirement gets a lot of
\n(justified) press. Long term care, and the
\nimplications for individuals and their loved
\nones, is not always covered in as much detail.<\/p>\n

To be clear – addressing retirement should
\nbe a high priority. Planning for long term care
\nis about protecting your loved ones, and ensuring
\nthat the costs don’t ruin all the other
\nplans you have made. First, make good plans
\nfor retirement, for your estate, and for your
\nother priorities. Then make sure that long
\nterm care doesn’t ruin them. <\/em><\/p>\n

Some statistics to ponder (from the NY
\nPartnership for Long Term Care website,
\n2014):<\/p>\n

\u2022 In the Northeastern Region of New York,
\nwhich includes the greater Capital district,
\naverage nursing home rates are $303 per day,
\nor $110,544 per year.<\/p>\n

\u2022 In order to apply for Medicaid, and have
\nthe government pay your long term care costs
\nin a nursing home, an applicant may have
\n$14,550 in assets, with a monthly income of
\n$50. Their community spouse is allowed to
\nretain a maximum of $117,240 in assets, and
\na monthly income of $2931.<\/p>\n

\u2022 For home care, the Medicaid limits are
\n$14,550 in assets and $809 in monthly income.
\nFor a married applicant, the asset limit is
\n$21,450 and a monthly income of $1192.<\/p>\n

Those numbers are probably not what you
\nhave in mind as part of a successful retirement.
\nSo what to do?<\/p>\n

There are a number of tools available to
\naddress the potential threat that long term
\ncare poses to your future, and your loved ones’
\nfuture. These include (but are not limited
\nto): traditional long Term care insurance, NY
\nPartnership LTC insurance, and hybrid combinations
\nof LTC and cash value Life Insurance.<\/p>\n

In addition, some annuity products have
\nriders or other partial protection built in for long term care costs. They all have different
\nfeatures, benefits, and limitations.<\/p>\n

It’s beyond the scope of this article to define
\nall of these approaches, or get into the costs
\nand benefits of each. They are all tools, means
\nto an end. Like any tool, you want to use the
\ncorrect one for the job at hand. You can use a
\nwrench to drive a nail, but a hammer is a lot
\neasier, and more effective.<\/p>\n

First, review your goals and priorities with
\nthe people who are most important in your life.
\nAssess what you want to happen, and define
\nyour wishes for your future. At that point, it
\nmay make sense to consult with professionals
\nfor advice. Having that background, you can
\nstart to learn what tools may help make your
\nvision a reality – and which ones may not be
\nappropriate.<\/p>\n

One note of caution – don’t wait for the
\n“right time” to start. Many insurers have a
\nmaximum issue age for long term care coverage,
\nand all of them exclude many conditions
\n(such as dementia and neurological disorders).
\nIf you wait until you are close to needing
\ncare, you may find it difficult or impossible
\nto get coverage. Generally, the younger and
\nhealthier you are, the easier (and cheaper)
\nit is to get coverage.<\/p>\n

Long term care is an important consideration
\n– but it does not take the place of good
\nfinancial planning, or good estate planning.
\nIt is difficult to determine a good approach
\nwithout a sense of the “big picture.”<\/p>\n

The best approach may include multiple
\nprofessional opinions, including an estate
\nplanning attorney and a tax advisor.<\/p>\n

Flanagan is a wealth advisor with Sterling
\nManor Financial LLC in Saratoga Springs.<\/em><\/p>\n

Photo Courtesy Sterling Manor Financial<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

James Flanagan, wealth advisor, Sterling Manor Financial LLC in Saratoga Springs By James Flanagan Retirement gets a lot of attention lately and rightfully so. Stories documenting the decline of pensions and the pressure on Social Security have become common….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":19997,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[58,70],"class_list":["post-28571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-reports","tag-business-reports","tag-financial"],"yoast_head":"\r\nLong Term Care - Hole In Financial Plan? - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/09\/long-term-care-financial-plan\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Long Term Care - Hole In Financial Plan? - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"James Flanagan, wealth advisor, Sterling Manor Financial LLC in Saratoga Springs By James Flanagan Retirement gets a lot of attention lately and rightfully so. 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