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How much does long-term care insurance cost for a 65 year-old?
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Long-term care insurance is a valuable financial planning tool considering that it can help cover the cost of nursing homes, assisted living communities and even home health aides later in life. On the other hand, you’ll have to pay premiums to purchase and maintain coverage. And, those premiums can get expensive if you wait too long to purchase a policy.
Considering the fact that most older Americans (65 years old and older) will need long-term care at some point in their golden years, this type of coverage is an important consideration as you near, or make your way through, retirement.
But, what if you’re already 65 years old? How much would your long-term care insurance premiums cost? That’s what we will break down below.
Chat with an expert about your long-term care insurance options now.
How much does long-term care insurance cost for a 65 year-old?
“The cost of long-term care insurance depends on a variety of factors,” explains Kelly Augspurger, CLTC, instructor for Certification for Long-Term Care, an education company that offers certifications for long-term care insurance agents. Those factors for 65 year-old applicants typically include:
- Gender: “Females pay about 30-40% more than males because females typically live longer and have higher occurrence of claims,” says Augspurger.
- Health: Premiums tend to be least expensive for the healthiest applicants.
- Partner status: “Married/partners will receive a discount versus single people,” says Augspurger.
- Benefits chosen: Your benefit amount and benefit period will play a role in your premiums.
- Riders: “Inflation (if chosen) and any other riders added on the policy will increase the price,” Augspurger explains.
So, how much would those premiums cost in terms of dollars and cents?
According to Augspurger, a 65 year-old single male will pay about $2,749 annually for a $4,000 monthly benefit and 3-year benefit period with a 3% lifetime inflation protection rider. Keep in mind that this quote is based on standard rates as “preferred/perfect health rates are not realistic at this age.” Though, Augspurger says that if preferred rates are achieved, your premiums may be between 15% and 20% less expensive. But prices can vary significantly, even accounting for the average difference between the sexes. She also explained that a 65 year-old female would pay about $4,599 annually for a similar policy.
Compare your long-term care insurance coverage options today.
Why you should get long-term care insurance now if you’re 65
If you’re 65 years-old, and you don’t already have long-term care insurance, you shouldn’t hesitate to apply. Here are a couple of reasons you should purchase coverage as soon as possible:
Long-term care insurance prices increase with age
Long-term care insurance providers are in the business of risk management. They know that every policy comes with the risk that the covered party will use their benefits to cover the cost of long-term care. However, that risk is typically greater for older consumers than it is for consumers of younger ages. As such, long-term care insurance premiums usually grow with age.
Considering this, you may have access to better premiums today. So, look to purchase coverage now.
You may not qualify if you wait too long
Long-term care insurance companies don’t just consider the financial risk you pose to them when they price your policy. That risk is also a significant consideration when these companies decide if you even qualify for coverage.
There are several factors that can disqualify you for long-term care insurance, and the risk of those factors impacting your ability to qualify increases with age. In fact, your age is one of them, with rejection rates around 50% by the time you reach 70 years old. Other factors that may disqualify you for coverage include pre-existing conditions, cognitive impairments, mobility limitations, terminal illness and functional impairments. Applying for long-term care insurance now, before these issues arise, can help ensure that you qualify for coverage.
The bottom line
Depending on whether you are male or female, your long-term care insurance premiums may range from $2,749 to $4,599 annually at 65 years old (though the cost of your policy may be higher or lower depending on the options you choose and the company you purchase it from). And, if you don’t already have coverage at 65, it’s important to purchase a policy as soon as possible. After all, long-term care insurance prices typically rise with age. And if you wait too long, you may not qualify for coverage at all. So, compare your long-term care insurance coverage options now.
Frito-Lay is recalling a limited number of 13 oz. bags of Lay’s Classic Potato Chips after being alerted by a consumer contact that the product may contain undeclared milk.
The bags of chips affected by recall were distributed to certain retail stores and e-commerce distributors in Oregon and Washington and were available for sale beginning Nov. 3, 2024.
“Those with an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the recalled product,” the Food and Drug Administration said in the recall notice posted Thursday.
No allergic reactions related to the recall have been reported, according to the recall. Additionally, no other Lay’s products, flavors, sizes or variety packs are affected.
FDA
The recalled chips include Lay’s Classic Potato Chips, in flexible 13 oz. (368.5 grams) bags with UPC code 28400 31041, a “Guaranteed Fresh” date of 11 Feb 2025, and one of either two manufacturing codes: 6462307xx or 6463307xx.
General guidelines from the FDA advise consumers who have purchased any recalled food to dispose of the product or return it to the retailer for a full refund.
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What is the debt ceiling? Here’s why Trump wants Congress to abolish it before he takes office
Washington — President-elect Donald Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance and billionaire Elon Musk blew up a GOP-backed deal to fund federal agencies into March, raising the pressure on Republican congressional leaders to craft a plan to avert a government shutdown just before the holidays.
In a statement Wednesday, Trump and Vance lambasted the agreement for including provisions favored by Democrats. But the incoming president and vice president also added a new, significant wrinkle to negotiations when they urged Congress to raise or abolish the debt ceiling now, instead of next year.
“Increasing the debt ceiling is not great but we’d rather do it on Biden’s watch,” Trump and Vance said in their statement. “If Democrats won’t cooperate on the debt ceiling now, what makes anyone think they would do it in June during our administration? Let’s have this debate now.”
What is the debt ceiling?
Set by Congress, the debt ceiling, or limit, is the maximum amount of money the U.S. Treasury is authorized to borrow to pay debts incurred by the federal government. Lifting the debt ceiling does not authorize new spending, but instead lets the government spend money on obligations that Congress has already been approved.
Failing to address the debt ceiling could lead the U.S. to default on its debt, which would have devastating effects on the economy. The government has never defaulted, and the Treasury typically uses accounting moves, known as “extraordinary measures,” to delay breaching the debt ceiling.
While raising the debt ceiling used to be routine, legislation addressing it has in recent years been used as leverage to force policy concessions and fuel debates over government spending.
Congress last addressed the debt ceiling in June 2023 as part of a legislative package negotiated by President Biden and then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. That deal suspended the debt ceiling through Jan., 1, 2025, ensuring any fight over it would take place after the 2024 elections.
The Treasury Department will likely implement extraordinary measures to stave off a default in the new year. It will also announce an “X date,” the estimated point at which the government will no longer be able to pay its obligations. The Economic Policy Innovation Center, a conservative think tank, projected in an analysis released Monday that it’s possible the debt limit will be reached by June 16.
While the Treasury Department’s use of extraordinary measures would give Congress more time to address the debt ceiling, Trump is now urging lawmakers to take action now, before he takes office.
Why does Trump want to raise the debt ceiling?
The president-elect will come into office with a legislative to-do list that includes securing the border and extending provisions of his signature Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was enacted in 2017 and overhauled the tax code. But a fight over the debt ceiling could complicate efforts by the Republican-led House and Senate to focus on those legislative initiatives and pass them quickly.
Trump is urging lawmakers to eliminate the debt ceiling altogether, a position that some prominent Democrats have endorsed in the past.
“Number one, the debt ceiling should be thrown out entirely,” Trump said in a phone interview Thursday with CBS News’ Robert Costa. “Number two, a lot of the different things they thought they’d receive [in a recently proposed spending deal] are now going to be thrown out, 100 percent. And we’ll see what happens. We’ll see whether or not we have a closure during the Biden administration. But if it’s going to take place, it’s going to take place during Biden, not during Trump.”
Trump separately told ABC News that “there won’t be anything approved unless the debt ceiling is done with,” indicating any spending deal to prevent a shutdown must address the debt limit.
“If we don’t get it, then we’re going to have a shutdown, but it’ll be a Biden shutdown, because shutdowns only [injure] the person who’s president,” he told ABC News.
Whether Republicans and Democrats would go along with such a plan, though, is far from clear. GOP lawmakers in both chambers have opposed raising the debt ceiling without spending reforms, and debates over the debt limit often give way to broader fights over the federal budget, which conservatives in Congress have said is bloated and should be reduced. Plus, Democrats still control the Senate and the White House.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Wednesday that shutting down the government would harm families and endanger services Americans rely on.
“Republicans need to stop playing politics with this bipartisan agreement or they will hurt hardworking Americans and create instability across the country,” she said. “President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Vance ordered Republicans to shut down the government and they are threatening to do just that — while undermining communities recovering from disasters, farmers and ranchers, and community health centers.”
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries suggested Democrats would not go along with a plan pushed by Republicans to raise the debt limit.
“GOP extremists want House Democrats to raise the debt ceiling so that House Republicans can lower the amount of your Social Security check. Hard pass,” the New York Democrat wrote on the social media platform Bluesky.
Jeffries also told reporters “the debt limit issue and discussion is premature at best.”
