Not everyone has savings to cover the cost of nursing-home care, home-health care, or personal
or adult care for people ages 65 and up. Some people fear facing a debilitating or chronic
condition in retirement that depletes their savings and affects their legacy plans for their family.
One option these people might have is “long-term care” insurance. Such policies offer more
flexibility and options than public state or federal programs in the U.S.¹ People who have long-
term care insurance, sometimes known as LTC insurance, have options when it comes to
covering the high cost of this kind of facilities.
Nursing facilities charge, on average, $150 to $300 a day, or $80,000 a year.¹ Three visits per
week from custodial or home care visits can run more than $9,000 a year.¹ Many LTC policies
offer a dollar-per-day arrangement for time spent in a nursing facility (or for in-home visits).
Professionals often suggest shopping for LTC insurance between the ages of 45 and 55. This is a
strategy to attempt to defray those costs in retirement.
There may be tax deductible elements, business deductions, or other benefits to having LTC
insurance as part of your comprehensive retirement income plan. You might not have to rely on
your children for money, for example. You can’t know what will apply to your situation unless
you speak with a financial adviser.

¹ Julia Kagan, “Long-Term Care (LTC) Insurance,” Investopedia, accessed March 9, 2020,
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/ltcinsurance.asp.