As long as your funds last year the rest of your life given the high inflation rates we now have you are ok.

Not really, many of the residents in the nice assisted living center where my mother resided in the last years of her life were unable to pay the freight and they received the same care as she did. No worries.

What happens if things change in the center and she wants to move elsewhere? Not quite so simple unfortunately/

If it was an "assisted living" facility, not a nursing home, it is unlikely that a typical facility would care for very many residents without some type of special State authorized Medicaid program approval. Most assisted living facilities are "for profit" businesses that will require non-paying residents to move out. Some states have a special Medicaid program that will pay for a very limited number of assisted living residents. By contrast, most "nursing homes" rely heavily on the Medicaid program to fund their facility. It is not unusual for as many as 90 percent of a nursing home's residents to be on Medicaid.

My mother and others were paying the whole freight, then there were others who had no money and received the same care and probably could only contribute their monthly SS check. When you reach an advanced age and require assisted living, you’re not out shopping for new digs every year. It was a beautiful facility.

Thus, my point. Why worry about having enough money, the government will pay your way when you’re old. It was a real eye opener for me over ten years ago.

My parents were not wealthy but saved and planned carefully. It doesn’t take long to blow through a hundred thousand dollars for assisted living care and even faster if the patient requires “memory care”.

To the OP:

I suggest you post this question in the Boglehead financial forum. It is easy to find if you google “bogleheads”. There are some very savvy folks there who I am sure will give you some valuable additional input. Good luck.

That is one reason that I would never recommend buying long term care insurance. If you end up in a nursing home, they will be happy to take your long term care insurance benefits, but they won't provide any better care. You paid thousands of dollars for insurance premiums, but you will be living with people on Medicaid who get the same care and didn't pay any premiums.

Younger people are mostly affected by increase in rents and housing prices. Most retired people own home outright(I would hope so) and less affected by the increase in housing prices.

I agree and then there are the instances where those insurance carriers went under.

Agree with you but tell that to the people who worked for and invested in companies like ENRON. 2 years ago someone tried to sell me bit coins. Politely passed and could have made quick money. If I still had them, would have been down at least 50%. CD's now at 4%. Beets the heck out of my Well Fargo which is paying less than 1%.

Those are good(notice I did not give a more positive description) now. Last year cd's were hardly sold and/or bought. At least with them, the ONLY downside is that they do not keep with inflation.

Although I almost always agree with every post you write in the investment forum, I see LTC policies differently……

I think of it as asset protection. I am not into living our lives to try to save money for heirs — they’re doing fine — but if the LTC policy ends up protecting assets for the spouse, that can be life -changing.

Certain LTC policies (maybe all) cover assisted living. I don’t think assisted living is covered after Medicaid spend-down. (I might be wrong about that, but I don’t think so.) If assisted living is needed, that can be when the finances of a couple can get hit hard.

(I am not selling LTC policies. :) My point is mostly moot here anyway because after a certain age, buying a policy might not be possible.)

Buying into a non-profit CCRC while still independent can function as an LTC policy in a way, but you have to be able to afford the buy-in and the monthly fees and get in while you can. (Actuaries must do the scrutinizing for CCRCs.) With CCRCs, the decision to go there while still independent can be difficult for some.

……..interesting discussions in this thread…….

Boomer

I understand your opinion. LTC insurance is only appropriate for people who have modest assets. It is not appropriate for those who either have no assets or wealthy people who can self insure. I'm pretty sure LTC insurance can be used for assisted living, and if you go into a nursing home, you will need to exhaust all available LTC benefits before you will qualify for Medicaid. The LTC benefit eligibility is determined by your health condition, not by where you live. One thing I don't like about LTC insurance is that your eligibility for benefits is determined by the insurance company, not you or a third party.

Most of my life I have kept almost all my financial eggs in one basket (commercial real estate) and watched and tended to it very carefully. But now that 80 is in my rear view mirror I consider it wise to diversify my financial assets. This year I sold a property and expect to close on the sale of another in early 2023. What I did is put about 30% of my gain into conservative solid dividend paying stocks and ETF's which naturally have lost some value in the current market. 70% of the gain I placed in 6 month T bills which will all mature in early 2023 before I need half of it to pay the IRS tax on a huge capital gain. If the early 2023 sale goes through as expected I will place all the after tax proceeds into 6 month T bills. Why? I expect interest rates to go up, how much I do not know, the stock market to likely sink a little more with some upside riffles along the way. I see the world as very unstable now, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the actions of the CCP, various factors at work affecting our energy supply and much more. At such times cash is king. I plan to retain for now my remaining real estate properties as they provide a nice income stream as well as the likelihood of appreciation over the long term.