Do retirees need long-term care insurance?

Health care costs are a big concern for people going into retirement, but the costs of long-term care can still be a shock.

Here are a few facts:

• 70% of people over 65 will need some form of long-term care at some point.

• For married couples, the chance that one spouse will need long-term care rises to 91%, says Byron Udell, CEO and founder of AccuQuote.com.

• People living alone are more likely to need some sort of home health care.

• Women outlive men, and thus, are more likely to live alone and need some sort of home health care.

So, while some financial planners previously were on the fence about long-term care insurance, they were still encouraging people to at least have a plan for long-term care.

"For Baby Boomers, long-term care insurance is a must," says Manhattan attorney Ann-Margaret Carrozza. "We can no longer rely upon Medicaid to cover custodial type care. We see over the course of the past few years that eligibility for Medicaid has gotten tougher. In 2006 the so-called look-back period was extended from three years to five years," she says. During that period, the government can check, or look back, to see if you have sheltered or given away assets — and if you have, it triggers a penalty period when you're ineligible for government aid.

Continue reading:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/brooks/2014/09/09/retire-long-term-care-insurance-baby-boomer/14968081/