Retirement Readings - Need for Long-Term Care Insurance

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QUOTES from the Masters...

On Patience

On Persistence

"Patience is a bitter plant that produces sweet fruit." -- Charles Swindoll

"Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast." -- William Shakespeare

"Americans are incredibly impatient. Someone once said that the shortest period of time in America is the time between when the light turns green and when you hear the first horn honk." -- Jim Rohn

"Unreasonable haste is the direct road to error." -- Jean Baptiste Moliere

"When you get in a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn." -- Harriet Beecher Stowe

"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt

"Persistence takes a focus that doesn't see the obstacles but only sees the opportunity..." -– Doug Firebaugh

"Your most valuable asset can be your willingness to persist longer than anyone else." -– Brian Tracy

Need for Long-Term Care Insurance

Separating FICTION from FACT

Few people are prepared to handle the financial burden of long-term health care.
In fact, many people have a false sense of security when it comes to long-term care.

FICTION	FACT
*“Medicare and my Medicare supplement policy will cover it.”*	In fact, Medicare and “Medigap” insurance were never intended to pay for ongoing, long-term care: Only about 12% of nursing home costs are paid by Medicare, for short-term skilled nursing home care following hospitalization. (Source: AHIP, A Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance, 2004) Medicare supplement insurance helps cover some of the gaps in Medicare coverage, but not long-term care. (Source: AHIP, A Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance, 2004)
*“It won’t happen to me.”*	At age 65, people face at least a 40% risk of entering a nursing home at some point in their lifetime and about 10% will have a stay of five years or longer. (Source: AHIP, A Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance, 2004) Women have a longer life expectancy than men…about 72% of nursing home residents are women. (Source: AARP Public Policy Institute, "Women and Long-Term Care," July 2002)
*“I can afford it.”*	As a national average, a year in a nursing home is currently estimated to cost $79,935. In some areas, it can easily cost $100,000 or more! (Source: 2009 MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Adult Day Services, and Home Care Costs) The average length of a nursing home stay is about 2.4 years. (Source: CDC/NCHS Health Care in America, Trends in Utilization; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, January 2004) The average cost of an assisted living facility in the U.S. was $37,572 per year in 2009. (Source: 2009 MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Adult Day Services, and Home Care Costs) Home health care is less expensive, but it still adds up. Bringing an aide into your home just three times a week easily can cost $1,000 each month, or $12,000 a year. (Source: AHIP, A Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance, 2004)
*“If I can’t afford it, I’ll go on Medicaid.”*	Medicaid, or welfare assistance, has many “strings” attached and is only available to people who meet federal poverty guidelines.

Whether purchased for yourself, your spouse or for an aging parent, long-term care insurance can help protect assets accumulated over a lifetime from the ravages of long-term care costs. Please contact my office if you're interested in discussing possible long-term care funding solutions.

MESSAGES from the Masters...

TODAY IS YESTERDAY'S TOMORROW by Jim Rohn

The problem with waiting until tomorrow is that when it finally arrives, it is called today. Today is yesterday's tomorrow. The question is what did we do with its opportunity? All too often we will waste tomorrow as we wasted yesterday, and as we are wasting today. All that could have been accomplished can easily elude us, despite our intentions, until we inevitably discover that the things that might have been have slipped from our embrace a single, unused day at a time.

Each of us must pause frequently to remind ourselves that the clock is ticking. The same clock that began to tick from the moment we drew our first breath will also someday cease.

Time is the great equalizer of all mankind. It has taken away the best and the worst of us without regard for either. Time offers opportunity but demands a sense of urgency.

When the game of life is finally over, there is no second chance to correct our errors. The clock that is ticking away the moments of our lives does not care about winners and losers. It does not care about who succeeds or who fails. It does not care about excuses, fairness or equality. The only essential issue is how we played the game.

Regardless of a person's current age, there is a sense of urgency that should drive them into action now - this very moment. We should be constantly aware of the value of each and every moment of our lives - moments that seem so insignificant that their loss often goes unnoticed.

We still have all the time we need. We still have lots of chances - lots of opportunities - lots of years to show what we can do. For most of us, there will be a tomorrow, a next week, a next month, and a next year. But unless we develop a sense of urgency, those brief windows of time will be sadly wasted, as were the weeks and months and years before them. There isn't an endless supply!

So as you think of your dreams and goals of your future tomorrows, begin today to take those very important first steps to making them all come to life.

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