In today's "Post-Pandemic" environment, advisors consistently ask for ways to make Long-Term Care (LTC) Planning a more significant part of their practice....and make it EASY.  To do so, we recommend focusing on the process and not so much a product as the most effective way to accomplish the goal.   To that end, perhaps the best way to make LTC Planning "easy" is by considering a simplistic approach and asking clients one simple question:   

"Long-Term Care is excluded by health insurance and Medicare, so if you needed care, what account would you tap to pay for it?" 

This core question allows you to help clients effortlessly pivot and consider potential planning solutions to maximize the funding source they have identified and plan to use to fund the cost of care.  Below are examples of recent plan implementations using a client's answer to achieve some outstanding results with ZERO additional out-of-pocket outlay…..

“I would tap our large balance of cash in Savings and Money Market accounts”

Affluent male, age 73, concerned about Healthcare In Retirement but “has it covered”…..

The advisor repositioned $142,000 of low-yield deposit accounts to create an Asset-based plan providing $400,000 LTC benefits OR a $200,000 tax-free death benefit.

“I would use the cash value in an old life insurance policy I've been keeping”

Female, age 68, with stage 3 kidney disease, who believed LTC Planning wasn’t an option given her current health considerations.....

Taking advantage of the tax code with a tax-free 1035 exchange, it was possible to move $111,000 in her existing life insurance policy to a new policy with more than $300,000 available for either a death benefit or LTC expenses.

“We would liquidate $175,000 in an old annuity”

A Couple, ages 67 & 68, want to avoid becoming a burden on their family. They each have multiple health issues, and they are concerned about Long-Term Care.....

By upgrading an old, dormant annuity and using a Pension Protection Act-compliant annuity, they could TRIPLE the amount available to pay for care and provide TAX-FREE withdrawals of the embedded gains for qualified LTC expenses.  

“We'd use our IRA accounts as part of our Minimum Required Distributions”

A male, age 72, with Type 2 diabetes AND had prostate cancer 6 years ago, believed it was “too late for LTC planning at my age".....

He completed a Tax-Free IRA transfer of $300,000 and began taking income/RMDs on those funds to create a separate pool of funds that provide Tax-Free benefits to help pay for care should he be unable to perform Activities of Daily Living.