By Natalie Karp, MBA, CLTC and Rona Loshak, MBA, CLTC
What’s the one financial risk most people never plan for? Not market volatility. Not inflation. It’s the very real, very likely possibility that someday — you or someone you love will need help. Help to get around. Help at home. Help that costs $40–$45 an hour, seven days a week, month after month.
April arrives as both Financial Literacy Month and National Stress Awareness Month. For millions of Americans, financial stress doesn’t come from bad investments or overspending — it comes from the unknown. And nothing is more financially unknown, or more financially threatening, than the open-ended cost of long-term care.
What the Numbers Actually Tell Us
Once a person reaches age 80, there is an 80% probability they will need some form of long-term care whether to help with daily activities or support managing cognitive changes that can come quietly with age. Most people believe they’ll be the exception. The statistics suggest otherwise. Medical advances are extending our lives, families are dispersed, and most women will spend a significant chapter aging solo. This is not a remote possibility. For most of us, it’s a likelihood worth planning for.
What Long-Term Care Insurance Actually Covers
Let’s be clear about what this is. Long-term care insurance is not a nursing home policy. Benefits pay for care wherever you receive it: a home health aide, adult day programs, or assisted living — wherever you choose. And no — Medicare doesn’t cover it. This is the costliest misconception in retirement planning. Medicare covers short-term skilled care after hospitalization. It does not cover the ongoing, chronic assistance most people will eventually need. That gap is real, and it falls on you.
Why a Plan Changes Everything
Almost everyone agrees: they want to stay home, in their community, on their own terms. But professional home care at $40–$45 an hour adds up fast — and without a plan, those costs come straight out of the portfolio you spent decades building.
“I’ll self-fund it” sounds reasonable until you understand what you’re actually self-funding. This isn’t an asset conversation — it’s a cash flow conversation. Care doesn’t clock out at 5pm. Around-the-clock home care runs nearly $200,000 – $350,000 a year today. Care costs have been rising 3 to 5 percent annually, outpacing most retirement income assumptions. Stretch that across years of need, and factor in that your portfolio is being liquidated at the exact moment it should be compounding — the damage is generational, not only personal. No savings account is designed to absorb an open-ended, inflation-sensitive cash flow demand of this magnitude. That’s precisely what insurance exists to solve.
Today’s newer policies deliver a tax-free stream of income — guaranteed, flexible, available in whatever care setting you choose – even international. Guaranteed premiums, guaranteed cash benefits, no receipts required. Depending on age, a well-structured policy can deliver 8 to 15 times the benefit relative to premiums paid. The real question isn’t whether you can afford the premium — it’s whether you can afford to be without it.
What It Actually Protects
Your savings. Your nest egg stays intact for the life you want to live — travel, legacy, the things that matter — rather than being drained by costs you never planned for.
Your kids. Adult children are often in their 50s and 60s themselves, juggling careers and families. A funded plan is one of the most meaningful gifts you can give them — it removes an impossible burden before it ever lands.
Your spouse. A surviving partner navigating grief and reduced income shouldn’t also face depleted assets. A care plan protects both of you.
Your independence. Women outlive men by five or more years and are more likely to face chronic conditions of aging — often alone. A long-term care plan is the difference between directing your own life and having circumstance direct it for you. Independence. Dignity. Choice. These aren’t abstract — they’re what a good plan actually buys.
The Smartest Thing You Can Do Right Now
Long-term care insurance is health underwritten. Your ability to qualify depends on your health at the time of application — waiting until you need it, it means you can no longer get it. The best time to act is while you’re healthy enough to qualify and calm enough to think clearly.
Financial literacy isn’t just knowing how to save. It’s knowing what you’re saving against.
Ready to take the first step? A conversation costs nothing — and waiting could cost everything. The best financial decisions aren’t made in a crisis — they’re made quietly, thoughtfully, while you still have options. That’s what this conversation is.
WATCH: Long Term Care Insurance for Women Webinar
Natalie Karp, MBA, CLTC and Rona Loshak, MBA, CLTC Founding Partners, Karp Loshak LTC Insurance Solutions Brokerage Inc. With decades of combined experience, Karp Loshak specializes exclusively in long-term care planning — because they believe it deserves that kind of focus. www.karploshak.com
