Top Questions That We Receive

The average cost for a private room nursing home is $297/day or $9,034/month. (Genworth, 2021) And round the clock at home care can be even more expensive. This level of expense is not manageable for most retirees. LTCI is insurance that will pay for some or all these costs.

LTCI does not make sense for everyone. If you are struggling to save enough for your normal retirement, without even considering the additional costs of an extended stay at memory care, nursing home or assisted living, LTCI may not be for you. If you have enough retirement income to cover over $9,000 a month in nursing home expenses, for both you and your spouse, LTCI may not be for you.
However, if you feel confident your retirement will be successful, but you don’t have a $9,000/month health care budget, LTCI might be right for you. There are plans that can guarantee either you or your beneficiaries will get the full tax-free benefit.

Medicare is typically available when you turn 65 years old. And, if you do not apply for Medicare the first year you are eligible, you may be subject to a late enrollment fee.

If you are working and you, or someone else, rely on your income to live, disability insurance is important. Disability is significantly more likely to occur than death and if you become disabled, you still have expenses like housing, healthcare, and food. Social Security Disability is difficult to receive, takes a long time and is unlikely to cover all your expenses if you do receive benefits. Disability Insurance is often offered through your employer, however if you are self-employed you may have to find your own policy.

Maybe, typically an ESPP will offer a 15% discount for purchasing company stock. There are a few drawbacks of ESPP. Taxation, concentration, limitations and alternatives.
Taxation: If you purchase your company stock, at a 15% discount, then sell for a 15% gain, you will have to pay tax on the difference between purchase and sales price.
Concentration: If you are purchasing a significant amount of stock in the same company you work, you are concentrating your risk in the same place. Meaning if there was a negative event you may both lose your job and a significant amount of assets.
Limitations: Typically, the most you can purchase will be $25,000/year in an ESPP. The stock purchase will usually happen on one particular day, you don’t have control over.
Alternatives: Before you decide to use your company's ESPP, take a look at if they offer a 401k, especially if it has an employer match. Or if a ROTH or Traditional IRA makes sense for you. There are often other plans that make more sense, however an ESPP does have benefits.