HOW TO BUDGET FOR LONG TERM CARE AND MEDICAL EXPENSES WHEN YOU AGE…..

Senior Americans determined to stay in their own homes are likely to need help at some point a caregiver help. From household chores and in-home medical to personal care. With 10,000 baby boomers a day turning 65 in the next 10 years, the need for in-home health care will only increase.

Those who plan early may buy insurance policies that cover home-care benefits. That could be long-term care insurance, or a life insurance policy with a rider for long-term care, sometimes called hybrid policy.

Those without long-term care insurance often start out relying on an unpaid family caregiver, but  eventually many need to turn to paid help. 

"For the most part, the clients who have home care are private pay,” says Jerry Love, a certified public accountant in Abilene, Texas, and a frequent lecturer on financing retirement and long-term care for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Here’s some tips on how to budget yourself, so you cab afford the costs of a home care service.

1. Fund it yourself. “Live on less so you can save and invest more,” some specialists suggest, setting aside money weekly to invest, whether in a 401(k), an IRA or a non-retirement investment account.

2. Get long-term care insurance through a group plan. If you take a job that offers long-term care coverage as a benefit, you can be enrolled regardless of your health history. “If somebody has some kind of chronic condition, and their employer offers long-term care insurance, they really should enroll in it because then they may have the opportunity to carry it forward with them when they leave the company,”

3. Invest in a long-term care annuity. With an annuity, you pay a lump sum of money, and in return you get a specified amount of income paid to you at set intervals for the rest of your life. Long-term care annuities offer special provisions to help pay for long-term care expenses.

4. Consider a hybrid life insurance/long-term care policy. While long-term care insurance providers are interested in your likelihood of needing assistance with daily living, life insurers are focused on whether you are likely to die at an early age. It may be easier for some people with chronic conditions to qualify for life insurance, and if so, some policies come with a long-term care rider.

5. Buy a policy for short-term care. Unlike long-term care policies that can provide years of coverage, short-term care policies typically will cover you for a year or less. “The benefits are not as rich as a traditional long-term care insurance product, but it's still better than nothing,”.

6. Gain access to long-term care services through Medicaid. The federal government will pick up the tab for long-term care services, but only if you have limited income and your countable assets are typically less than $2,000 as an individual or less than $3,000 per couple.

7. Sell your life insurance policy. If you already own a life insurance policy, you can do what's called a long-term care life settlement, In such a transaction, the proceeds from the sale are used to fund long-term care expenses.