Getting Long Term Care

Is Long-Term Care Insurance For You?

The poors cannot afford it; the riches don't need it. But for the middle class, think hard before you buy the long-term care insurance.

While long-term care insurance can make sense for many people, middle- and upper-middle-class folks probably benefit more than any other group. Couples with investable assets between $200,000 and $2 million are prime candidates, says certified financial planner Harold Evensky of Coral Gables, Fla.-based Evensky & Katz Wealth Management, since they could see their savings devastated by long-term-care expenses.

People with assets of less than $200,000 generally can't afford long-term-care premiums, and many in this group would qualify for Medicaid, which provides medical services for people with low incomes and few resources. What's more, people with modest incomes are probably better off shoring up their savings by increasing their 401(k) contributions or saving in an IRA account.

Things get more complex for people with investable assets in the $2 million to $5 million range, who likely have the financial wherewithal to pay for several years of long-term care out of pocket. They may forgo long-term-care insurance entirely and take on the risk themselves, a process commonly known as self-insuring. The appeal: Since there are no guarantees that they'd ever need long-term care, they get to hang on to the money otherwise spent on premiums and pass it on to their heirs. The downside, of course, is that if long-term care were eventually needed, they'd be stuck with high, if not crippling, bills.