“While the U.S. inflation rate was 2.1% for the first half of the year, the cost of a one-room assisted living facility grew by 6.67% from 2017 to 2018, Genworth Financial says.”
In other words, you’re going to need a much heftier retirement fund or a better plan, to prepare for the possibility of needing long term care. A recent article from CNBC, “This retirement expense has hit $100,000 annually–and it’s continuing to rise,” reports that a larger number of older adults will need specialized care. Another problem is a shortage of skilled workers. Care expenses will rise with wage demands. Your best bet: start planning now for how you’d like to receive—and pay for—your care.
Overall, the rising cost of care has outpaced inflation. The CPI (Consumer Price Index) for all urban consumers was 2.1% for the first half of 2018. The annual median cost of a room at an assisted living facility grew faster, and even the cost of a shared room in a nursing care facility increased—by 4.11%.
Here’s a look at the most expensive places to seek care:
Aging in Alaska is the most expensive state, if you need to be in a nursing home. The annual median cost for a private room: $330,873, according to the Genworth study. An alternative might be assisted living facilities. However, they offer less medical care or assistance. There’s also the option of having a home health care aide come to visit.
Home health care services cost the most in Hawaii, where patients pay an annual cost of $68,640 for just 44 hours a week of care at home. The growing demand for support services, is likely to push the cost of care even higher.
People planning to retire in five years or so, can prepare by working with a knowledgeable advisor. The first question is, where do you want to receive care? The next one is to plan for the worst-case situation, where you or a spouse need the care that only a skilled facility can provide.
The solution, if you can get coverage, may be a long-term care insurance policy, or a life insurance policy with a long-term care feature. The cost may be high but the costs you might incur without that coverage will be way higher.
Another solution is Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California). In most states, Medicaid is the only government program that can nursing care. However, Medicaid is not open to everybody. You must pass a means-test in order to qualify for Medcaid. Medicaid involves a series of complex rules and it is not easy to tell right away whether a person qualifies for Medicaid. If you want to know whether you qualify for Medicaid, you should contact an attorney specializing in this area.
Part of your planning should also include selecting trusted people, family or friends, who can be named to take over your financial matters (power of attorney) or medical care (health care power of attorney), should you become incapacitated, by illness or injury.
Your estate planning attorney will be able to help you prepare these documents, along with a comprehensive estate plan that protects you and your family while you are living and after you have passed.
Reference: CNBC (Oct. 20, 2018) “This retirement expense has hit $100,000 annually–and it’s continuing to rise”
Genworth Financial表示,“雖然上半年美國通脹率為2.1%,但室內輔助生活設施的成本從2017年到2018年增長了6.67%。”
換句話說,你需要一個更強大的退休基金或更好的計劃,為需要長期護理的可能做準備。 CNBC最近發表的一篇文章稱,“This retirement expense has hit $100,000 annually–and it’s continuing to rise” 大多數老人需要專門護理。另一個問題是技術工人短缺。護理費將隨工資需求而增加。您最好的選擇是現在就開始計劃您希望如何接收並支付您的護理費。
總體而言,護理成本的上升超過了通貨膨脹。 2018年上半年所有城市消費者的CPI(消費者價格指數)為2.1%。可是輔助生活設施的房間年度中位數成本增長更快,甚至護理設施中共用房間的成本也增加了 4.11%。
以下是護理費最昂貴的地方:
如果你需要住在養老院,阿拉斯加是養老最昂貴的州。根據Genworth的研究,私人房間的年度中位數成本為330,873美元。另一種可能是輔助生活設施。但是,他們提供的醫療保健或援助較少。還有另一個選擇是請家庭醫療助手前來探望。
在夏威夷,家庭醫療保健服務的成本最高,患者每週僅44小時就需支付一年68,640美元的費用。對於支援服務的需求不斷增加,這可使護理成本更高。
計劃在五年之內左右退休的人可以通過與專業人士合作來做好準備。第一個問題是,您想在哪裡接受護理?下一個為最壞的情況打算,您或配偶需要入住護老院才可護理。
如果保險些,解決方案可能是長期護理保險政策,或具有長期護理功能的人壽保險。成本可能會很高,但如果沒有覆蓋所有範圍,可能會產生更高的成本。
另一種解決方法是醫療補助(加州白卡)。 在大多數州,醫療補助是唯一可以提供護理的政府計劃。 但是,醫療補助計劃並不對所有人開放。 您必須通過一連串的經濟審查才能獲得醫療補助資格。 醫療補助涉及一系列複雜的規則,並且不能立即便判斷一個人是否有資格獲得。 如果您想知道自己是否有資格獲得白卡,您應該聯繫專門從事該領域的律師。
您的計劃還應包括選擇可信賴的人,家人或朋友為您在生病或受傷而無法處理財務或醫療時去幫你處理有關事務。
您的資產規劃律師將能夠幫您準備這些文件,一個全面的資產計劃能在你在生及去世後去保護您和您的家人。
參考: CNBC (Oct. 20, 2018) “This retirement expense has hit $100,000 annually–and it’s continuing to rise”