You spend your entire working career putting aside money in order to have a sufficient nest egg in retirement so that you can do the activities that you enjoy with the people you care about most.
There are risks to that goal that you need to be aware of and you need to take steps to mitigate that risk.
One of those risks is that you or your spouse will become ill and need some type of expensive assisted living care for an extended period of time.
Cost of care in Missouri
In the state of Missouri the average cost of assisted living care is $54,000 a year. Consider what impact a three year, $162,000 stay would have on your portfolio while a spouse is still living at home with the usual bills. Or, if you are single, you will often still have your usual day-to-day living expenses because family members are often hesitant to sell your home, in the hopes that you will return, or they are not yet ready for the task of selling. Now consider the fact that healthcare costs are increasing faster than the standard rate of inflation and you can see how an extended stay could be a risk to your retirement goals.
Purchasing a policy
A Long Term Care policy can cover different types of nursing care ranging from in home care to a private room with fully-assisted living care.
You can purchase a policy to cover the majority of the cost, or even just a portion in order to help offset the cost, if something were to happen to you.
Purchasing a LTC policy can help preserve your assets so that they can last your lifetime, and help financially protect a spouse should one of you require expensive care.