From time to time, I will publish articles from other professionals that I feel have important information and value that should be shared with the public.  The most recent news concerning Reverse Mortgages, is that they have exceeded last year’s fundings as more Seniors are beginning to use the money from the loan to pay for their monthly living expenses.

The wave of Baby Boomers coming up through the ranks of aging, will have a very large impact on the Reverse Mortgage industry, because many of them will not be prepared for retirement and will need additional funds to manage monthly expenses.   More on that at a later time. 

Be Prepared for long-term care

By Corinne Berenson
coberenson@roadrunner.com

Congratulations, baby boomers; up to 3 million of the 76 million of you will celebrate your 100th birthday.

Today’s centenarians have become the poster children for what scientists call the “longevity revolution,” which has added more than 30 years to life expectancy in the past 100 years. How well you live during those extra years will depend on how well you’ve planned for the ordinary cost of living longer and the extraordinary cost if you need long-term care.

We all know the value of buying life insurance — it’s there for a rainy day or to protect the people we love from the financial impact of a premature death. Yet, how well have you protected those same people in the event that you don’t die? How well have you protected your retirement income, and the emotional and logistical burden of caring for you in the event that you are no longer able to care for yourself due to physical limitations or some form of dementia?

Americans are in denial about the oncoming crises in the costs of care. A recent poll indicated that 59 percent of baby boomers are concerned about the growing cost of care, yet 72 percent have made no plans, maybe because we believe that Medicare or Medi-Cal will pay. Think again. Maybe Medi-Cal will, if you’ve become financially impoverished and want to stay at a Medi-Cal-funded nursing home. If you want to maintain your choices and stay out of a nursing home, your only options are to spend your own assets or buy long-term care insurance.

www.corinneberson.com