Holidays offer a chance to talk about more than turkey

Planning for future care, expenses should be on the menu, too

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Nov 15, 2018, 15:00 ET

INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Across the United States, families will be gathering over the coming weeks, talking about family news, meals—and possibly, having crucial discussions about care for loved ones.

In a recent survey conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of OneAmerica^®, 60 percent of Americans say if they had a debilitating disease or chronic illness that required long-term care for five years or longer, they would prefer to receive care in their home, either from a family member or hired caregiver¹.

However, the survey of 2,006 adults age 18 and over also found that nearly 4 in 10 Americans—38 percent—haven't talked to anyone about preparing for their possible need for long-term care.

"This survey confirms what many of us who help people plan for their futures know—people have expectations and preferences for their care as they age, but they don't talk to anyone about them until a need for care actually arises," said Tracey Edgar, RN, BSN, CLTC, vice president, sales, Care Solutions, at OneAmerica. "Unfortunately, that's often too late to prepare, both financially and with family members."

A need for some level of assistance with daily activities is a likelihood as people age, ranging from in-home assistance to skilled medical and nursing care. People may not be able to predict how much care they'll need, but families can take many steps to prepare early. Discussing powers of attorney, living arrangements, and caregiving expectations or desires are all important first steps.

So is talking with a financial planner about preparing for the possibility of long-term care expenses.

"So many people have worked hard to build a solid plan for retirement, but haven't considered how long-term care expenses can deplete those assets more quickly than they planned," Edgar said. "Asset-based long-term care protection is one way to help prepare for expenses, should they be needed, while providing a death benefit if long-term care benefits aren't fully used."

OneAmerica offers asset-based LTC solutions, which offer guaranteed premiums and benefits, plus a return-of-premium guarantee in case of cancellation.

For more information and scenarios about how long-term care protection can help protect assets, download "Planning for Every Possibility" at www.oneamerica.com/ltcstudies.

About OneAmerica^®
A national leader in the insurance and financial services marketplace for more than 140 years, the companies of OneAmerica help customers build and protect their financial futures. OneAmerica offers a variety of products and services to serve the financial needs of their policyholders and customers. These products include retirement plan products and recordkeeping services, individual life insurance, annuities, asset-based long-term care solutions and employee benefit plan products. Products are issued and underwritten by the companies of OneAmerica and distributed through a nationwide network of employees, agents, brokers and other sources who are committed to providing value to our customers. To learn more about our products, services and the companies of OneAmerica, visit OneAmerica.com/companies.

OneAmerica^®is the marketing name for the companies of OneAmerica.

Products issued and underwritten by The State Life Insurance Company^® (State Life), Indianapolis, IN, a OneAmerica company that offers the Care Solutions product suite. All guarantees are subject to the claims paying ability of State Life.

On July 27, 2018, State Life was rated A+ (Superior) by A. M. Best. This is the second highest of 16 possible ratings assigned by the agency.

¹ This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of OneAmerica from September 13-17, 2018 among 2,006 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact [email protected].

SOURCE OneAmerica