Long Term Care: Knowing vs. Understanding
It’s one thing to know something, quite a different thing to understand it.
Knowing is more academic, objective. When you know something, you’ll get the right answer on a quiz.
Understanding? Well, I believe that’s more under your skin. In your bones. Relevant to your life.
Consider, for example, the fellow who knows, and has actually known for some years now, that it makes good sense to start exercising and eating better. However, it’s only when he’s diagnosed with a preventable illness—an experience that he also knows he might’ve avoided had he acted on that knowledge—that he arrives at a full understanding.
So, experience. It’s widely believed that while we can clearly learn from books and lectures, experience is the best teacher. This explains why firsthand long term care experience—either as a primary caregiver or even a long-distance one—is the best predictor of whether or not an individual actually plans for long term care and purchases a policy.
Simply put, experience with long term care teaches people that it’s a smart move to purchase a policy.
Though experience may be the best teacher, the wisest person also learns from the experiences of others. With this in mind, let’s dig a little deeper by taking a look at the challenges you would face in planning for an uncertain future, and what we can learn from the experiences of people who have met those challenges. So, starting with the assumption that you know it makes sense to plan for long term care, let’s consider how your planning choices vary, depending on your relationship status.
If you have a spouse or significant other:
When a couple discusses the topic of long term care planning, they often have a blind spot. Each may think the other will take care of them! The reality is that one will either die or need care first, meaning the second person to need care is effectively on their own.
This knowledge can be an incentive for planning, but to truly get our arms around the challenge—to understand—we should look harder. Income and assets may be depleted by taking care of the first person to need care, leaving the other individual in a financially exhausted state. And in the event of the death of one of the pair, if the first person to die had been the primary breadwinner, the income of the surviving spouse (from pension(s), social security, etc.) may be compromised.
Funding for long term care can therefore be important for each and every person, regardless of relationship status.
If you are not in a committed relationship:
From a planning perspective, your decision is unfettered by the uncertainty of who will need care first, or, the other usually unanswerable questions that can muddy the water for couples.
It’s wise to make sure your plans for the future include how to pay for long term care, should it be needed.
When it comes to deciding whether or not to purchase a long term care insurance policy, know that I stand by with a wealth of knowledge and experience to help you make the best possible decision.
If you have any questions about your long term care insurance or planning please do be in touch. Baygroup Insurance can be contacted at http://www.baygroupinsurance.com/forms/contact-us or call us at 410-557-7907 for more information.
