The holidays are upon us, and we all know what that means: family gatherings!
This year, we hope to have a safe way to see loved ones and enjoy the holiday season together. While it might feel like "normal" times again, a lot has changed during the pandemic.
Some of us may have taken on more of a caregiver role in our own families or may be having to consider additional care for a loved one.
As time passes and our families grow and change, the level of care that is needed also changes.
If you provide long-term care planning services for your clients, you may know a lot about that.
If you have focused mainly on providing other services, you may find yourselves learning about a whole new world.
Long-Term Care Risk
It can be difficult to discuss, or even contemplate, strategies for long-term care and retirement, yet open and honest conversations about one's needs, hopes and expectations — and how you and other family members may be involved — can be extremely valuable down the road.
Long-term care is the help you need if you're unable to perform basic everyday tasks on your own, such as eating or bathing. As you age, it's important to consider how you would address a possible long-term care event — or an event that shifts your physical and/or mental ability to maintain your day-to-day routine — including where you might receive care and how to cover the associated costs.
As loved ones think through their retirement portfolios, it's important to recognize that 70% of people ages 65 and older will need some kind of assistance with these everyday activities, according to the Administration for Community Living.
Neither health insurance nor Medicare generally covers this type of care, and, according to New York Life's Cost of Care data, LTC expenses, whether assisted living, nursing homes or at home, are steadily rising. Long-term care insurance can help cover the costs of at-home nurses or health aides, nursing homes and other types of daily support.
Preparing for these care needs before you or a loved one needs them can help you maintain greater control when a long-term care situation arises and can help keep yourself or a loved one receiving care at home longer.
Long-term care insurance can help hedge some of that risk and contribute toward some of the financial responsibility.
Jeff Beligotti, FSA, MAAA, CFA, is a vice president and head of long-term care at 
