Boomer Watch: Longevity, Long-Term Care and the Baby Boomer Women

Many baby boomers are now retiring, they are aware of the challenges they may face in their golden years especially in terms of finances, health and long-term care. However, baby boomer women need to see retirement differently compared to men. As we are all aware, women are more likely to live longer than men so they have to have extra funds to last their lifetime. 

Photo credit: www.boomercafe.com

Long term care insurance gives services that are needed by people who are in the old age already or who have chronic illnesses and cannot take care or depend on themselves anymore. This kind of service aids people in living their daily life normally like they used to. Long term care services include assistance in taking a bath, dressing, transferring from one place to another, eating, and using the toilet. Knowing that, is long term care insurance women would need to have in the future?

Women live longer than men and outlive them from five to seven years in average. That is the primary reason why women spend so much more on long term care insurance than men do. Statistics say that about 70% of residents in nursing homes are women, two-thirds of formal home care and informal care recipients are women, and over 75% of residents in assisted living communities are women.

Since women tends to be busier in their lifestyle – working so much for the family or for the self, taking care of others, making sure that everything is in order, doing the household chores, minding the family’s welfare and other concerns including physical, mental and emotional aspects, and being in-charge of management in the house. And because of those, women would need something that would take the turn and take care of them in the future.

It is better if they have their own families that could take care of them when they grow old and weak. Though, that would entail hindering the family members from what they want to do or would have to devote their time to. But if a woman is not married and does not have her own family, it would be even tougher for she have to take care of herself and there would be no one who would be around to support her in her old age.

Luckily, there is long term care insurance women could invest in. There will be other people who could provide help and assistance for them provided that they would be able to pay the price for this kind of service.  Although it would be quite costly for them, having all the bills that has to be paid and the husband or the children’s needs as well, it would be worth it in the long run in ensuring what will happen to them when they get older.

You just have to make sure that when applying for long term care insurance policy and in purchasing one, you should be still healthy and quite young and still have income or money resources to pay for your policy. Doing so could lessen what you will have to pay for your long term care insurance. You could get discounts and lower rates of the services that you would want to purchase. You have the opportunity to gain more premiums and benefits if you decided to purchase long term care in a younger age.

Be sure to mind your health even when you grow old. Boomercafe discussed how baby boomer women need to plan thoughtfully about retirement and long-term care. Do not forget to include your own needs into the things you put in your priorities. There is the long term care insurance women might need in the future when it is already time to think about yourself again after taking such good care of your family and even minding your work and career.