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3 smart long-term care insurance moves to make in your 70s
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Long-term care insurance can offer valuable financial support by helping pay for nursing homes, assisted living facilities and in-home caretakers. But if you’re shopping for long-term care insurance in your 70s, you’ve likely faced some hurdles. After all, with rejection rates around 50% for 70 to 74 year old applicants, it can be difficult to find a policy that gives you affordable peace of mind – but it’s not impossible.
The good news is that you likely have multiple options to choose from, even in your 70s. However, it’s imperative that you choose the best policy for your needs. And, there are a few smart moves you can make to ensure that you do.
Compare long-term care insurance policies now and lock in your coverage today.
3 smart long-term care insurance moves to make in your 70s
“When you enter your 70s, you may have had a health event or witnessed a friend or sibling with a health event,” explains Rhonda Bills, CLTC, and trainer for Certification for Long-Term Care, a training company that offers long-term care insurance agent certifications. “One of my clients’ first questions to me is, ‘Did we wait too long?’ The response is always NO.”
Here are a few moves you can make to find the best policy for your needs:
Make a plan
The first thing you should do as you look for long-term care coverage in your 70s is make a plan. Do you know how to access care when the need arises? Do you plan on leaning on your family members? Would you rather age at home or does the constant professional health assistance that comes with a nursing home or assisted living community sound more fitting?
These are important questions to think about because the cost of long-term care varies depending on the type of care you receive. Moreover, some policies will only cover formal long-term care options while others will make it possible to pay informal caregivers like your family members and friends.
You should also take this time to think about how much insurance you need. Chances are that you have retirement income. But how much of that income can you allocate to your care – and how much of a financial gap does long-term care insurance need to fill? The answers to these questions will help you find the type and amount of coverage you need.
Chat with a long-term care insurance expert now if you need help making your plan.
Shop around
Long-term care insurance options, limitations and premiums often vary from one provider to the next. So, it’s important to shop around. That’s especially true when you’re in your 70s as potential rejection and high prices are valid concerns. But, comparing multiple policies may bring quality coverage options at affordable prices to light.
“If you’re age 70 and shopping for long-term care, you should consider the difference in cost between insurance companies,” explains Justin Stivers, financial advisor and founding attorney at Stivers Law, a law firm specializing in estate planning. “This is even true for policies with similar coverage. By shopping around, you can compare costs and identify policies that offer the best value.”
It’s also important to note that different policies may come with different coverage options and features. “Shopping around for long-term care insurance can also allow you to explore policy features and select a plan that aligns with your needs and preferences,” says Stivers. “Some policies may offer more comprehensive coverage for home care services and alternative care.”
And shopping around could help you find better policy customization opportunities, “such as inflation protection riders, shared care benefits and non-forfeiture options,” says Stivers.
Get started
“A barrier for this age group is acceptance since the rejection rate by 70 years old is about 50%,” Afik Gal, co-founder and president of the financial planning and insurance firm, Assured Allies, told CBS News Wednesday. And that “barrier” only grows as you age. Not only will prices rise, but the coverage you do get offered may not be as comprehensive as it could have been if you had applied at an earlier point. So, it’s important to start now to give yourself the best chance of finding an effective policy at a reasonable price.
The bottom line
Shopping for long-term care insurance in your 70s can be challenging. But, it may still be possible to find affordable coverage that meets your needs. Before you shop, think about what your needs are and create a long-term care plan. Then shop around to find a policy that fits within your plan. And, perhaps most importantly, you should start your search for coverage now as it may not be available or affordable later. Get in touch with a long-term care insurance specialist today to discuss your options.
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Head of Russia’s nuclear defense forces killed in Moscow blast triggered by device hidden in scooter, officials say
Moscow — The head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces, Lt. General Igor Kirillov, was killed along with his deputy early Tuesday in an explosion in Moscow, Russia’s Investigative Committee said.
An explosive device hidden in an electronic scooter went off outside a residential building as the two men left the structure, Agence France-Presse cites investigators as saying.
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“Investigators, forensic experts and operational services are working at the scene,” committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement. “Investigative and search activities are being carried out to establish all the circumstances around this crime.”
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The committee carries out responsible major investigations in Russia.
Kirillov was sentenced in absentia by a Ukrainian court on Dec. 16 for the use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine during Russia’s military operation in Ukraine that started in Feb. 2022.
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Ukraine’s Security Service, the SBU, said it had recorded more than 4,800 uses of chemical weapons on the battlefield since February 2022, particularly K-1 combat grenades.
During the almost 3-year operation, Russia has made small but steady territorial gains to the nearly one-fifth of Ukraine it already controls.
Kirillov had been in his post since 2017, AFP notes.
A powerful earthquake hit the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu Tuesday, smashing buildings in the capital, Port Vila, including one housing the embassies of the U.S. and other nations. A witness told Agence France-Presse of bodies seen in the city.
Dan McGarry, a journalist with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project based in Vanuatu, told the Reuters news agency in an interview that police said at least one person had been killed and injured people had been taken to hospital.
“It was the most violent earthquake I’ve experienced in my 21 years living in Vanuatu and in the Pacific Islands. I’ve seen a lot of large earthquakes, never one like this,” he said.
The 7.3-magnitude quake struck at a depth of 35 miles, off the coast of Efate, Vanuatu’s main island, at 12:47 p.m. local time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The ground floor of a building housing the U.S, French and other embassies had been crushed under higher floors, resident Michael Thompson told AFP by satellite phone after posting images of the destruction on social media.
“That no longer exists. It is just completely flat. The top three floors are still holding but they have dropped,” Thompson said.
“If there was anyone in there at the time, then they’re gone.”
Thompson said the ground floor housed the U.S. embassy, but that couldn’t be immediately confirmed.
A photo showed significant damage to the building:
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The United States has closed the embassy until further notice, citing “considerable damage” to the mission, the U.S. embassy in Papua New Guinea said in a message on social media. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this earthquake,” the embassy said.
The New Zealand High Commission, housed in the same building, suffered “significant damage,” a statement from Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ office said, adding that, “New Zealand is deeply concerned about the significant earthquake in Vanuatu, and the damage it has caused.”
Thompson, who runs a zipline adventure business in Vanuatu, said, “There’s people in the buildings in town. There were bodies there when we walked past.”
A landslide on one road had covered a bus, he said, “so there’s obviously some deaths there.”
The quake also collapsed at least two bridges, and most mobile networks were cut off, Thompson said.
“They’re just cracking on with a rescue operation. The support we need from overseas is medical evacuation and skilled rescue, (the) kind(s) of people that can operate in earthquakes,” he said.
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Video footage posted by Thompson and verified by AFP showed uniformed rescuers and emergency vehicles working on a building where an external roof had collapsed onto a number of parked cars and trucks.
The streets of the city were strewn with broken glass and other debris from damaged buildings, the footage showed.
Nibhay Nand, a Sydney-based pharmacist with businesses across the South Pacific, said he had spoken to staff in Port Vila who said most of the store there had been “destroyed” and that other buildings nearby had “collapsed.”
“We are waiting for everyone to get online to know how devastating and traumatic this will be,” Nand told AFP.
A tsunami warning was issued after the quake, with waves of up to three feet forecast for some areas of Vanuatu, but it was soon lifted by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
Earthquakes are common in Vanuatu, a low-lying archipelago of 320,000 people that straddles the seismic Ring of Fire, an arc of intense tectonic activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific Basin.
Vanuatu is ranked as one of the countries most susceptible to natural disasters such as earthquakes, storm damage, flooding and tsunamis, according to the annual World Risk Report.
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