Senators Want To Create LTC Trust Accounts

By Staff Writer

February 07, 2007 at 02:26 PM

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Lawmakers are proposing a new vehicle for helping Americans cover the cost of long term care.

Sens. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and Gordon Smith, R-Ore., have introduced S. 504, a bill that would permit individual taxpayers to contribute up to $5,000 per year to "long term care trust accounts."

Taxpayers could receive a refundable 10% tax credit for LTC trust contributions, representatives for the senators say.

Interest accrued on the accounts would be tax free, and funds could be withdrawn for the purchase of LTC insurance or to pay for long term care services.

Taxpayers could make contributions to LTC trust accounts for parents or other people as well as for themselves.

The Association of Health Insurance Advisors, a division of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Falls Church, Va., has issued a statement praising the bill.

"This represents meaningful tax relief and is an important incentive for Americans to take greater personal responsibility for their long-term care needs," AHIA President Lawrence Lounds president says in the statement.

Links to information about the bill are on the Web at Document Link

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