Nearly 60% of Americans over the age of 50 are worried about the costs of long-term care, while only 16% feel prepared financially, according to a recent study by Sun Life Financial and conducted by Kelton Research.æ
Bob Klein, Sun Life’s vice president of Strategic Planning and Linked Benefits says that äóìthe younger and healthier a policy owner is, the more leverage he or she will have for multiplying the original single premium into a long-term care benefit.
He recommends that adult children should start talking about LTC insurance with their parents when the parents believe they are five to 10 years away from retirement.
Meanwhile J.P. Morgan’s white paperæ äóìSearching for Certaintyäó details the findings from more than 1,000 people with 401(k) plans wrestling with how to make their savings last through retirement. J.P. Morgan research shows that a minimum guideline for successful retirement income is a replacement ratio of at least 70% or more. Overall, only 40% of respondents even feel comfortable that they will be able to reach their financial goals in retirement.
Americans have pushed aside retirement savings priorities, which rank a distant second to paying monthly bills, according to J.P. Morgan. This is despite the fact that 401(k)s are the only or the primary source of retirement savings for two thirds of Americans.
I’ll let this stand. See our other posts on financial planning. It is not easy but if you do not do it, no one will do it for you.