Health care costs: Seven figures per couple. That's right, says a new article in the New York Times. The premise of the article is that the phenomenon known in America as "inheritance" may be going along the wayside. The Times gives us eight reasons that heirs shouldn't expect an inheritance from their parents. Long-term care is an important component of that prediction.
That's part of the reason why having long-term care insurance is so important. The Times quote says it best:
For 55-year-old couples, the numbers could go much higher, according to projections by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Once these people hit 65, if they pay all Medicare costs, purchase Medigap coverage beyond that and have prescription costs higher than 90 percent of their peers, they’ll need $1,064,000 in savings to finance these costs over the rest of their lives.
By purchasing long-term care insurance at a younger age, it can make the bite of future health care costs much easier on many seniors.
