Long-term care is the largest unmanaged risk in retirement planning. The right strategy isn’t always traditional LTC insurance.
Long-term care covers home health, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing care — expenses that Medicare does not cover and that can run $80,000 to $150,000+ per year. Without a plan, the cost falls on family or savings, often unpredictably and at the worst possible time.
Most long-term care strategies aren’t underbought. They’re under-evaluated. Traditional LTC policies are one solution; hybrid life-LTC policies, asset-based LTC, annuity-LTC combinations, and short-term care plans are all alternatives that may fit better depending on the household’s situation. The wrong product is the one chosen without comparing the alternatives.
At Avanti Group, we run a Residential Risk Audit™ before we recommend any long-term care strategy. We look at your assets, your timeline, your family situation, and your priorities — and compare the available approaches.
The Approaches We Evaluate
A complete long-term care evaluation considers:
- Traditional Long-Term Care Insurance — stand-alone LTC policies with daily or monthly benefits
- Hybrid Life-LTC Policies — permanent life insurance with LTC riders that provide either care benefits or a death benefit
- Asset-Based LTC — lump-sum or single-pay structures that leverage existing assets
- Annuity-LTC Combinations — annuities with LTC enhancements
- Short-Term Care Plans — for shorter benefit periods at lower premium
- Self-Funding Strategy — structured retention of the LTC risk for households with sufficient assets
What Most LTC Strategies Get Wrong
Traditional LTC is treated as the only option. Hybrid and asset-based products often fit better for households with available capital, and the comparison is rarely done.
Inflation protection is overlooked. Care costs rise faster than general inflation. A policy without compound inflation protection erodes in real value over decades.
The benefit period is too short. Average claim periods are increasing as people live longer with care needs. A 3-year benefit period may not be enough for many situations.
How to Get Started
Long-term care planning isn’t a commodity product. Call our office or use the button below to start a conversation. We’ll review your situation, your assets, and your priorities — and let you know exactly where you stand before we ever go to market.