Page 45 - Growing Old Without a Plan for Long Term Care is not for Sissies_Neat

Long Term Care Insurance: How Does This Stuff Work? 27 Elimination Period is waived. Restoration of Benefts: With this option if you have started receiving benefts from your policy but your health improves and you no longer need care, the amount of your beneft already paid out can be added back to your Total Beneft Amount, subject to the terms of the policy. Shared Benefts: This is a great option for couples. If your policy has this beneft and you use up all the dollars in your “Pool of Money” you can begin to use the dollars in your spouse or partner’s policy. Keep in mind this might reduce the beneft available for the second person. Still it is worth considering. Be sure to ask your Long Term Care Planning Advisor about this option. As you might guess, each of the basic and optional features affect the premium charged for your policy. For example, a policy with a total beneft of $200,000 is going to cost more than one with a beneft of $100,000. A policy with a 30 day elimination period is more expensive than one with a 90 day elimination. A policy with a 5% compound infation protections will cost more than a plan with 3% compound infation protection. I think you get the idea. We’ll address pricing in more detail in then next chapter. One note of caution as you design your plan. If you are com- paring policies from two or more companies, it’s very important to make sure you know the differences between the policies. This is why working with a trained Long Term Care Planning Advisor that represents several of the top insurance companies is vital. Your Long Term Care Planning Advisor can help you choose the benefts and options that best meet your needs.