A recent MarketWatch article touches on the issue of caregiving and how it is fast becoming something familiar to more and more Americans as the Baby Boomers enter retirement.

Family Caregiving

any people often find themselves in a situation where caregiving for a loved one is necessary, so they step up and take on the role. Others find themselves in the opposite situation, one in which they themselves need care but can’t afford a formal caregiver and instead turn to their family members for assistance. This trend of unpaid family caregiving continues to grow across the nation as few people are prepared for what comes along with long term care.

While planning to be a caregiver certainly has its place and it may be helpful to those who know the possibility lies in their future, I think planning to avoid caregiving is a wiser decision. How exactly can you do that if you don’t know what will happen in the future? Well, it’s simple. You prepare for the future.

A large portion of the unpaid caregivers in this nation are providing long term care to their loved ones, most often seniors, but sometimes much younger, too. Long term care is care that is provided in a nursing home, assisted living facility, or in the setting of home health care, often to those who are fragile and need assitance with daily tasks, have suffered a health problem like a stroke, or have a chronic disease like Alzheimer’s.

Avoiding the Burden

People often turn to family caregivers for one reason: they cost nothing. This is true, in a sense, if you consider the monetary cost of a loved one caring for you. What many people fail to take into consideration, though, is the great emotional burden associated with family caregiving.

Stress, tension, dissent, and other emotional issues often arrive when someone is caring for their loved one. It’s surprising if those issues don’t arise, because it’s hard to be impartial and remain void of emotion when we are providing care to someone we are so close to. On top of that, caregivers have been found to miss a great deal more of work than non-caregivers, and they do, in one way or another, spend some money providing this care, whether it’s in lost work hours, caregiving supplies, or other parts of their life.

It’s not possible to know for sure whether you or a loved one will ever need long term care one day, but it is possible to plan for the chance. Long Term Care Insurance offers a way to help you plan for the possibility. Discussing this type of insurance with your spouse or partner, your children, and your aging parents can help your family avoid the complicated and emotional issue of family caregiving later down the road.

Long Term Care Insurance

Long Term Care Insurance helps protect your assets from the high cost of long term care, which currently costs more than $80,000 annually for a nursing home and $40,000 annually for assisted living or home health care. These are costs most people simply can’t cover with their regular savings account. Long Term Care Insurance provides the extra coverage you need so you can receive care from a formal caregiver and let your family and loved ones focus on spending time with you, not taking care of all the details. Like any other insurance, by paying regular premiums, you transfer the major financial risk to the insurance company, so your portfolio doesn't take a huge hit years into retirement.

Investing in a policy for you and your significant other or looking into plans for your aging parents can help you all live a life not plagued with worries about "what if?". We help consumers shop the market and compare the top rated companies to help you find the lowest rate. Buying this type of policy is a serious decision that shouldn't be rushed, so don't let any one pressure you into buying immediately. Instead, take your time to review the different options and figure out which is best for you.

Read more about the impact of family caregiving or read more about talking to your family about the issue of long term care and caregiving. If you are interested in receiving a no-cost quote comparison of the top Long Term Care Insurance companies, fill out this form and we will be in touch with you shortly.