Posted November 20, 2009

The cost of long term care can severely impact your family’s future financial security. Requiring care in any setting is not a topic many of us want to talk about, for obvious reasons. But the fact is, 40 percent of Americans who need long term care are working age adults 18-64 – and this care comes with a very steep price tag.  For example, according to recent data from Genworth Financial the national average cost for one year of home care is more than $42,000.

Dr. Ken Dychtwald, a psychologist, gerontologist and author of 16 books including With Purpose, Going From Success to Significance in Work and Life says today’s Rubik’s Cube-like families come in all shapes and sizes and have diverse sets of complicated dynamics but one commonality is the need to include long term care planning as a part of their overall goals for financial independence and security. 

According to Dr. Dychtwald’s research, the biggest financial worry among the 55-and-older population is covering uninsured medical expenses during retirement.  Dychtwald adds that today people are living longer than ever before and this longevity revolution is creating an unprecedented “age wave.”  However, living longer creates a greater possibility of health issues along the way and the burden of caregiving usually falls to the closest relative.  Given that the need for long term care is generally a topic that people do not want to talk about – even a renowned gerontologist like Dr. Dychtwald struggled with this issue – many families are not having these discussions.  Dr. Dychtwald sees this reluctance to have conversations about long term care as a major hindrance to developing a proactive plan to control and protect one’s family’s financial future.  

Families that do not come together to plan responsibly for the potential future long term care needs of loved ones face serious risk of encountering financial, legal and emotional hardship that results when a crisis erupts and there is no plan in place.  But, a bright picture can exist when families take the reins and make well researched decisions early.

Dr. Ken Dychtwald is a psychologist, gerontologist, documentary filmmaker, entrepreneur and best-selling author of sixteen books on aging-related issues, including Bodymind, Age Wave: The Challenges and Opportunities of an Aging Society, Age Power, The Power Years: A User's Guide to the Rest of Your Life, Workforce Crisis: How to Beat the Coming Shortage of Skills and Talent.  He has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Financial Times, Fortune, Time, Newsweek, Business Week, Inc., U.S. News and World Report, The Economist, Hong Kong Daily News, South China Morning Post, The Standard, The Straits Times, 60 Minutes, Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, PBS, NPR and BBC. And he recently completed production of a world-class PBS documentary, The Boomer Century: 1946-2046, which he hosted.