The Importance of Long-Term Care Planning: Protecting Your Choices, Your Savings, and Your Family

You have worked hard to build a comfortable life. As retirement approaches, your plans may include traveling, spending time with grandchildren, or simply enjoying more freedom. But there is another question every family should consider: If you need help caring for yourself, who will provide that care and how will you pay for it?

At Great Southern Risk, we help individuals and families explore life insurance, annuities, and long-term care insurance. Planning for future care is an important part of protecting the life you have built.

What Is Long-Term Care?

Long-term care provides support when an illness, disability, or cognitive condition makes everyday activities difficult. It can include help with bathing, dressing, eating, using the bathroom, or moving safely from a bed to a chair.

Care may take place in your home, an adult day program, an assisted living community, or a nursing home. The right setting depends on your needs and the level of assistance required.

For families, having a plan means knowing more than where care might happen. It means understanding how to arrange support without leaving every decision until a crisis.

What Does Care Cost for Older Adults?

Even families with substantial retirement savings can be surprised by the expense. CareScout’s 2025 Cost of Care Survey reports the following national median costs:

Type of care	Cost basis	Annual cost
Non-medical care at home	$35 per hour; 44 hours per week	$80,080
Assisted living community	$6,200 per month	$74,400
Nursing home, semi-private room	$315 per day	$114,975
Nursing home, private room	$355 per day	$129,575

These are national medians, rather than quotes for a particular provider. Actual expenses vary by location, services, and care needs. The home-care estimate assumes 44 hours each week, so around-the-clock assistance would cost considerably more.

Using those annual figures, three years of assisted living would total $223,200, while three years in a private nursing home room would total $388,725, before future price increases.

For a married couple, those expenses can create an additional challenge: paying for one spouse’s care while maintaining the other spouse’s household and retirement income.

Will Medicare Pay for Long-Term Care?

Many people assume Medicare will cover their care as they age. That assumption can leave a significant gap.

Medicare generally does not pay for ongoing custodial care, such as help with bathing, dressing, and other daily activities when that is the only care needed. It may cover qualifying skilled nursing or rehabilitation services under specific conditions, but that coverage is different from paying for an extended assisted living or custodial nursing home stay.

Medicaid may help eligible individuals, subject to state financial and care requirements. Understanding these distinctions belongs in your planning conversation.

A Care Plan Helps Protect the Whole Family

The financial cost is only part of the picture.

Without a plan, a spouse or adult child may suddenly need to coordinate appointments, provide personal care, manage bills, and adjust work schedules. Families often want to help, but they may not have the time, physical ability, or training to handle everything.

Planning ahead gives everyone an opportunity to discuss:

• Where you would prefer to receive care.

• What assistance family members can realistically provide.

• Which savings or income sources could help pay expenses.

• How insurance might fit into the overall plan.

These conversations can help loved ones make decisions with greater clarity during an emotional time.

How Can Long-Term Care Insurance Help?

Long-term care insurance can help pay for qualifying services, subject to the policy’s benefits and requirements. Options may include:

Traditional long-term care insurance. Dedicated coverage that helps pay for eligible care in covered settings.

Life insurance with long-term care benefits. Certain policies combine a death benefit with benefits for qualifying care needs. Using care benefits may reduce the amount remaining for beneficiaries.

Annuities with long-term care features. Certain contracts include benefits or optional riders designed to address qualifying care expenses. These features are not included in every annuity.

Before choosing coverage, review benefit limits, waiting periods, eligibility requirements, covered services, premium obligations, and inflation protection. Age and health can affect availability and cost, making an early conversation valuable.

Start With a Conversation

Long-term care planning is about preserving choices and giving your family a practical way forward. Insurance may be one part of that plan, alongside savings, retirement income, and family support.

Contact Great Southern Risk to explore long-term care insurance and learn how it can work alongside your life insurance and annuity strategy. Together, we can help you understand your options and prepare for the care you may need