By: Jan Paul C. Ferrer

Long-term care falls beyond the scope of Medicare. But does that mean you need long-term care insurance? Anyone considering long-term care insurance may want to ask several key questions first. What are some of the questions you should ask before you buy long-term care insurance? Most Americans today can expect to live to a ripe old age. The life expectancy of a 50-year-old is now 79 for a male and 83 for a woman.1 What’s more, over a fifth of today’s 65-year-olds can expect to survive past age 90.2 While increasing longevity is good news, it increases the likelihood of needing long-term care at some point in your life. Long-term care costs can be significant and are not covered by Medicare or Medigap insurance. Whether or not you choose to buy long-term care insurance to defray such costs will depend upon a number of factors. If you are considering longterm care insurance, it is critical that you plan early and choose wisely among the available options. The cost of long-term care policies may increase dramatically with the age of the subscriber. According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, a 50-year-old can expect to pay premiums averaging $888 per year, increasing to $1,850 at age 65 and $5,880 at age 75.3 Purchasing a policy when you are younger and healthier can help contain costs and maximize benefits. Determining which long-term care features and benefits may be most meaningful to you requires an understanding of your projected financial situation as well as your anticipated health insurance coverage in your later years. The following questions can help you decide whether long-term care insurance is right for you, and if so, what features and benefits may be most meaningful to you in your later years. Long-term care encompasses a range of services that pertain to personal care as opposed to medical care: everyday tasks, which include bathing, dressing, moving around your surroundings and eating, as well as services that support independent living such as house cleaning, medication management, shopping, cooking, using the telephone or even paying bills. These services can be delivered at home, in an assisted living facility or nursing home, and costs can be high. According to the 2012 MetLife Market Survey of Long-Term Care Costs, the annual cost for an assisted living facility averages $42,600 per year and a nursing home averages $90,520 per year. Expenses can run even higher, depending on where you live and the facility you choose.4 Medicare coverage works in two phases: In phase one, Medicare will fully cover short-term nursing home stays up to 20 days for patients recovering from an acute illness or injury; in phase two, partial coverage maxes out at 100 days. During this second phase, individuals are responsible for daily co-payments unless a Medigap policy is in force. After 100 days, Medicare coverage expires leaving the elderly fully responsible for funding an array of often critical support services on their own whether those services are delivered in a nursing home, assisted living facility or at home. In addition, Medicare does not cover any assisted living expenses or adult day care expenses. While Medicaid will pay for long-term care in certain qualifying nursing homes, only those with minimal assets and income may qualify for benefits. Although there was an attempt to include a long-term care supplement within the Affordable Care Act, it was suspended indefinitely from the program due to questions surrounding its financial sustainability. Issues regarding pre-existing medical conditions and limited appeal to lower-income populations would result in extraordinarily high premiums, and therefore, the program was eliminated. In addition to your age and health profile when purchasing a long-term care policy, premiums are most directly linked to the benefits you chose. Because opting to cover every potential risk and need can be prohibitively expensive, picking and choosing what makes the most sense for your particular situation can manage premiums. For example, instead of opting for lifetime benefits, a three- to five-year benefit period may be sufficient. A shared benefit between married couples pools benefits and can be split up between spouses as needs arise. For example, a total of six years of benefits can be split equally, but if one spouse requires longer-term care, all of the policy could be used for that spouse. If you have a family history that includes Alzheimer’s or other significant predispositions, it may be cost effective to choose a longer benefit period to offset more extensive long-term care. How can subscribers protect themselves against inflation if benefits may not be tapped into for 20 years or more? Inflation protection riders are valuable to any long-term care policy. A 5% compound inflation protection rider has long been a traditional option on many policies, but recently a 3% option has gained popularity especially in view of low inflation rates that haven’t exceeded 4% since 1991.5 Opting for a lower inflation protection rider can also save on premium costs while still offering a hedge against rising prices. If you are considering a longterm care insurance policy, it is important to discuss your needs and expectations with a trusted advisor. At Morgan Stanley, we can help you sort through all the coverage options and help you find a longterm care solution that works best for your particular situation. Footnotes/Disclaimers 1Source: Social Security Administration, Actuarial Life Table, based on 2009 data (latest data available); http://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/tabl e4c6.html. 2Source: Social Security Administration, based on 2010 Calendar Year Life Table (latest data available); http://www.ssa.gov/oact/NOTES/as 120/LifeTables_Tbl_6_2010.html. 3Source: National Association of Insurance Commissioners; NAIC Consumer Alert, February 2012; http://www.naic.org/documents/cons umer_alert_ltc.htm. 4MetLife Market Survey of Long-Term Care Costs, November 2012; https://www.metlife.com/assets/cao/ mmi/publications/studies/2012/studi es/mmi-2012-market-survey-longterm- care-costs.pdf. 5Source: CoinNews Media Group, September 2013; http://www.usinflationcalculator.co m/inflation/historical-inflationrates//. If you’d like to learn more, please contact Jan Paul Ferrer. Article by Wealth Management Systems, Inc. and provided courtesy of Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor. The author(s) are not employees of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”). The opinions expressed by the authors are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley. The information and data in the article or publication has been obtained from sources outside of Morgan Stanley and Morgan Stanley makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of information or data from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. Neither the information provided nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation by Morgan Stanley with respect to the purchase or sale of any security, investment, strategy or product that may be mentioned. FINANCIAL TOPICS by Jan Paul C. Ferrer , CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Morgan Stanley Chicago Tel. No. 312-419-3535 Long-Term Care Insurance: Key Questions for Prospective Policyholders