Preparing For Tomorrow podcast

This week, after hearing from a client who wishes she would have bought more insurance a decade ago, Diane shares decisions that others have made in the past and now regret it. These people, if they had thought through their decisions before making them, could have ended up with much better outcomes.   When planning to provide for ourselves and protect our families, we need to take action.  And we need to not skip the small things.  The small things in these stories would have made all the difference. We all have a plan for our own future long term care needs.  Some will just let things happen and will end up being "put" somewhere.  Those who proactively seek solutions end up with much better choices later on. You can view both current and projected costs of home care, assisted living, and nursing home care where you live or plan to live I recommend you use 5% inflation on care as that's what we've seen for three decades. Then schedule a phone or zoom meeting to start designing your plan Then you'll be Prepared for Tomorrow!!!

This week, we look at premiums of traditional, stand-alone LTC plans.  Diane shares a plan that her clients designed 10 years ago when they were 49 and compares that to the same plan for a 49 year old couple today, a 59 year old couple today and a 69 year old couple today. Listen and learn how both premiums and benefits at each age (and time) differ.   You'll be surprised when learning the total premiums paid at 49 and 69, and more importantly, the difference in benefits availabe at age 79 for each plan. View current and projected costs of care where you live   Be sure to use a 5% cost of living rate as that's the average cost of care increase over the last 30 years. Schedule a phone or zoom meeting with me to start designing your plan Let's wotk together so you and your favorite people are prepared for tomorrow!

This week, Diane compares 10 year hybrid Life/LTC plans with 10 year paid up funding for a couple age 50, age 60, and age 70 to share why it's so much better for everyone when we plan early. Even though we don't want to think about it, at age 50, we need to consider what our 70 year old self, our 80 year old self and even our 90 year old self may be like and what kind of help we may need. Genuinely see the older people around you - your family, people at the grocery store, people walking out to their mailbox to get the mail.  Are they moving more slowly or unbalanced as compared to how they may have been able to move around 10, 20 or 30 years ago? Why would we really think we'll be different? By starting at age 50 onstead of 60, you could save hundreds of thousands of dollars in premiums over your lifetime, get your policies paid in full before you retire and then have 10 times what you paid in premiums to pay for care needs wherever you and your family and doctor sees as the best and safest place for you to live and get help living. You'll know you have a plan for when things don't go as planned. View current and projected costs od care where you live  and remember to use a 5% cost of living adjustment when considering future costs as that is the average rate of inflation on LTC services. Schedule a phome or zoom meetign to start designing your plan

It's football season!  This week, Diane compares football to LTC planning. Every team needs a quarterback, position players and a strong defense. We also need depth - a back up plan in case something or someone isn't the right fit for our needs. We need strategies and gameplans so we are prepared for tomorrow.   The most difficult part of LTC planing is we never know what we're going to need to defend against or when we need to be ready to defend.  No one is sending a schedule in advance, so we need to prepare today to have the best plan we can obtain no matter who our opponent is. I'll be your coach and help you strengthen your strategies and your team so you can all be Prepared for Tomorrow. Email me at and I'll email you a Planning Guide to help you start thinking about how and where and with whom you would want to live if you can no longer live independently. Schedule a phone or zoom meeting wih me to start designing your gameplan

This week, we're discussing worksite/group LTC plans, which have evolved a lot since group plans started being offered through employers. Jason Dutra with shares how they are committed to helping the 50+ million family caregivers in the U.S. today. He shares how today's worksite offerings differ from those offered in previous decades, including guaranteed premiums that never change.  This was a big concern with past plans and has now been resolved. We discuss how worksite plans help both employers and employees prepare for tomorrow's industry and family needs. We also discuss why someone can benefit from having both a worksite and an individual plan. Listen and schedule some time with me   to plan for yourself. Schedule a 15 minute meeting to see if a worksite solution can bring value to your company. View both current and projected future costs of care where you live and be sure to use a 5% cost of living/inflation factor as that's what we've witnessed over the last three decades.

So many people want a long term care plan with all the bells and whistles.  They want a plan that will pay for everything that could ever happen.  These plans are often priced higher than a budget allows. Why do people state that they want no coverage if they can't get the best plan out there? We don't do this anywhere but with LTC insurance. Do we not own a car because we can't afford a Tesla? No. Do we not eat because we can't afford the steak? No. When I work wit you, we work together to determine how much risk is both acceptable and affordable. There are plans offered to people on a stricter budget.  There are plans that accept medical concerns that other plans don't accept.  There are plans offered to age 89 in some states. Listen and then scheudle some time to work through this together

This week, Diane uses the Parable of the Sower to share different reactions to LTC planning that occur in the United States.   Are you the hard soil?  The rocky soil? The thorny soil?  The fertile soil? After listening, you can schedule a phone or zoom meeting with me to start planning to prepare for your family's tomorrow

Many have been advised by a financial planner, estate planning attorney or other professional that they have enough assets to "self-insure" future LTC needs. The question is not "can I afford it?" but "Is this the best use of assets to fund future care needs?" This episode is full of questions you should be asking yourself and your advisors if they tell you you can afford to self-fund. Listen and schedule some time with me to consider the risk and search for the most cost-efficient ways to pay for extended care  View current and projected costs of care where you live Learn what your state Medicaid system lets you keep

This week, I'm sharing what I learned about public LTC funding in Germany and how it's managed.  Their national/local public funding initiative is alreaday underfunded by taxes, and the aging population there is expected to increase by 37% over the next 30 years.   This is miniscule as compared to our aging population in the U.S.   We need to learn from our past mistakes as well as from what other countries are attempting in this arena. Thank you to the Center for LTC Reform for their articles and And please schedule some time to Prepare for Your Tomorrow today

This week, we're describing who may consider different types of LTC planning strategies and why. Stand-alone/traditional LTC  vs. Hybrid Life/LTC vs. Hybrid Annuity/LTC. All provide tax-free benefits for extended care needs. Thank you to team for creating easy to understand documents that agents can share with their clients. Listen and consider which category of coverage can fit your needs and financial structure best and let's talk. Schedule a free consultation to learn more

In our third week with our couple in their 80s, we consider options to obtain the most LTC benefits from annuities. If you already own annuities, check for a Chronic Illness rider or LTC rider.  If there is one, read it carefully as different rules apply to access enhanced benefits for care.  If you need help understanding your rider, ask me for guidance Some pay the LTC benefits tax-free and some don't.   Some require your need to be permanent, some don't. Some will enhance benefits for both cognitive and physical needs, and some don't. If you own an annuity (non-IRA) with a good amount of earnings, it can be repositioned to an annuity that can pay potentially three times the account value of the annuity, or more, tax-free when used for care.  This eliminates all the taxable gains your current annuity has earned over the years. If your annuity IS your LTC plan, there are wiser ways to use it than simply withdrawing the earnings and paying taxes on the gains. Schedule with me to learn more

Last week, I shared how not having a plan can create chaos throughout the whole family when long term care is needed. This week, I used the same need and family but added LTC insurance as a tool to help pay for care expenses. Listen and learn how helpful even a small plan can work to make life a little less difficult during a very difficult time. Then schedule some time with me to design your plan See current and projected costs of care (use 5% COLA to project Learn what your state's Medicaid program let's you keep and qualify for help

This week, Diane shares a story of what can happen when there is no plan for extended care or long term care. With cataract surgery adjustments today and super dialated eyes, rhis is all that can be said this week. Sorry for any typos, I can't see well at all. Listen sand schedule to design your family's plan

We're getting bad news from what seems like every direction these days. Governments and media are all talking about wars and destruction. But this is not new.  We've been through these kinds of events before, too many times, and we're still here and moving forward. We can't let panic, wars and market crashes control our choices.  These thnigs happen without our input. We can control our clarity, courage and conviction to stay on course. If you've been considering planning for future extended care needs, or if you've been working on your plan, don't stop now.  Too many find a reason to pause and then forget their reasons for planning in the first place.  Then, 10 or 20 years go by, and something happens to them or someone close to them, and they restart their search. At that point, plans are much more expensive or not available due to age or health concerns. Let's work together to design your plan today and protect those you love most tomorrow. Schedule

Hello all,    I recently had cataract surgery in both eyes, and my eyes get tired if I look at the computer too long.  I need to take breaks while recovering. Instead of discussing shared and individual LTC annuities this week, I need to share an episode that was aired last summer. This will remind you how LTC annuities can help both protect your family if you need extended care and also eliminate all those gains on your non-IRA annuities you've been holding on to because you don't want to pay more in taxes.   LTC annuities have very few health questions and are more easily approved.   Schedule with me to learn how you can avoid sharing your annuity earnings with Uncle Sam.

After reviewing planning strategies for hybrid or linked benefit LTC plans, this week we are comparing shared and individual traditional or stand-alone LTC plans. Yes, there have been rate increases on these plans, but over the last 20 years or so, traditional LTC plans have gotten much healthier.  Listen and learn how. When funding using income or on a budget, these plans can help families afford to get through an extended care need without bankrupting their loved ones.   It's easy to see that there are several ways to design and fund your long term care plan. Schedule some time to start preparing for your tomorrow  Learn what your state Medicaid program lets you keep to qualify for state Medicaid benefits (not recommended by us) View both current and projected costs of care

Anna & Marty compare shared hybrid life/LTC plans with separate LTC plans for each of them. It's a matter of preference and goals. The LTC and death benefit are directly related, so plans with higher LTC benefits have larger death benefits.  The death benefit acts as a return of premium if care isn't needed. The key differences in shared and individual plans is who can use the LTC benefits and for how long, who can be beneficiary, and when does the death benefit pay? Listen and learn how these plans differ and what Anna and Marty decided. Schedule an initial free consultation View current and projected costs of care where you live Learn what your state's Medicaid system lets us keep and receive care  Estimate rates for 6 year plans with 3% inflation growth Many don't want a full 6 year benefit period, so please understand that smaller plans have lower rates.

This week, Jen asked if she and her husband can own a long term care plan together and share the benefits with each other. She asked what happens if one person uses all the benefits. And what happens if neither of them need extended care services. She wants to know if it would be better to have two separate plans or share one and can they be each other's beneficiary. She also asked if this is the same as LTC Partnership. Listen and then schedule with me to design a plan to protect your loved ones if you need extended care at home, in assisted living, in memory care or elsewhere See current and projected costs of carfe where you live Learn what your state Medicaid program lets you keep and qualify for government funded care

This week, we need to pay attention that LTC is not just a women's issue.  It used to be more focused on women because we live longer and are more likely to live alone when help is needed.   Today, with so many divorces, we have a lot of single men who will also be living alone when help is needed.  But men are the providers for their kids and familiues.  There is no time to consider that you won't be providing. LTC insurance helps you continue to provide for and protect your kids, even if you can no longer provide for yourself.  It's hard to think and talk about this today, but without a plan, it will be more difficult and costly to your kids later. Watch this 3 minute tear jerking video of a son showering and shaving his dad When we have help helping our parents, it doesn't mean we don't love them as much.  It means they loved us enough to prepare for this day and not overwhelm us. View current and projected costs of care where you live Learn what your state's Medicaid program lets you keep to qualify for state benefits And then schedule a phone or zoom meeting with me to design your LTC plan

This week, Diane shares what she learned while attending the 2025 Genworth LTC Symposium "Sustainable Solutions:  The Future of Long Term Care Financing". We all agree on the problem and wonder how long it will take for all parties (public & private) to agree on a solution. The links below provide info on who is supporting the Well-Being Insurance for Seniors to be at Home (WISH) Act. Please reach out to your Congressmen/women and ask then to support this Act as it will help our most vulnerable population while fostering a more vibrant and affordable LTC insurance solution. Schedule with me to start planning WISH Act summary and links to full bill text National Council on Aging  American Geriatric Society American Academy of Physicians American College of Physicians National Alliance for Caregiving