And Its Your 150th Birthday…Congratulations!

​According to the Bible account, in the book of Genesis, Seth, the third son of Adam and Eve, besides Cain and Abel, lived till age 912.  I can’t seem to wrap my mind around living through multiple centuries. 912 looks more like a house number to me than the age of a living breathing human being, but maybe we are not too far off today. Consider Aubrey de Grey, a molecular biologist who has proposed that all we need do is tackle the physical deterioration among other things and we may live till age 1000, a scientific journey that he is personally on. Now imagine that birthday cake!

​Lets dial it back almost 9 centuries. How about 150?  You would have spent more time post retirement on this earth which is a scary thought particularly because there are a few risks in retirement including longevity risk, inflation risk, rate of withdrawal risk, etc. Lets focus on Longevity risk – essentially, you outliving your money. Since we don’t yet have apps that give us our precise life expectancy, we all face this longevity risk. (Other factors affecting longevity include family history, general statistics and lifestyle choices)

Ok! All this talk about living longer to essentially become aliens in this technologically advanced world, of autonomous cars, and scientifically elongated life span somehow makes me think about long term care (LTC). A short definition: Long term care (LTC) is any personal assistance needed to maintain your quality of life as you age. Research continues to show that 7 out of 10 people over age 65 will need LTC at some point and because women tend to live longer than men, the burden of caring for loved ones often falls on them. Read more at http://www.nationwide.com/cps/ltcbasics.htm
In the future a virtual nurse will be more affordable but if you’re from the old world where the skilled nursing facility makes an appearance, consider the cost. What if you have to stay there a while? Can you afford the long term care costs without aggressively depleting your retirement savings?

You see, what I gathered from Audrey de Grey’s research is that the decision to live to age 1000 is made today and the lifestyle changes have to be in effect right now. The only thing I can add to his proposal is a plan with dual benefit of protecting our retirement savings while at the same time improving our quality of life should also be in place now. A long term care policy is triggered if you need help in completing any two activities of daily living that we take for granted like eating, dressing, toileting, bathing and transferring.

Let’s continue the LTC conversation in person or over the phone, reach out to our Professionals to review the benefits of securing your LTC needs with Nationwide Insurance at 212-568-5700 or contact us through our website http://www.alphadrct.com

We can help you compare a stand alone LTC policy with a Life Insurance with LTC benefit options like living and getting help at home instead of a skilled nursing facility.