A large percentage of Minnesotans continue to be unsure about how they would pay for long-term care expenses as they age, but many are interested in financial products that could help them pay for that care.
Those are among results of a retirement and long-term care planning survey, conducted at the State Fair this year for the ninth time since 1998 by the Minnesota Department of Human Services and the Minnesota Board on Aging.
Of the 2,638 fairgoers surveyed, about 27 percent said they did not know how they would pay for their long-term care, while others said they would use personal savings or investments (23.8 percent) or long-term care insurance (20.5 percent), government programs (13.3 percent), equity in their home (7.1 percent) or and family help (5.7 percent).
Included for the first time this year were questions about financial products that could help pay for older adults' long-term care. Nearly 46 percent of respondents said they would consider adding a home care benefit to their Medicare supplemental insurance plan for $30-50 per month. The benefit would pay for non-medical services, such as help with homemaking, chores and meals. About 36 percent said they would consider buying a product for $50-75 per month that offers term life insurance while they are working and converts to long-term care insurance once they retire.
"Many older Minnesotans will have more choice, control and peace of mind in their later years if we find alternatives to current ways of paying for expensive long-term care," said Loren Colman, assistant commissioner for Continuing Care for Older Adults Administration. "An estimated half of people over 65 will need this care as they age yet many have not planned and remain unprepared to pay for it."
The Own Your Future initiative was launched by Governor Mark Dayton's administration in 2012 to promote public awareness of the need to plan for long-term care in later years. Most recently Own Your Future has focused on identifying affordable long-term care financing options for middleincome Minnesotans. A Medicare home care benefit and a term life insurance product that converts to long-term care insurance are two options that appear promising.
In responses to survey questions about retirement, age and income were big determinants. For example, 64 percent of respondents with income over $75,000 thought that retirement is a well-deserved reward while only about 56 percent of responders with an income lower than $20,000 selected that response. Conversely, 20 percent of respondents in the lowest income bracket said they did not believe they would be able to retire because they do not have enough money while only 5 percent of the highest income bracket selected that response.
The one-page state fair survey is intended to provide a snapshot of Minnesotans' current thinking on their retirement and long-term care planning. Sponsors use the survey results to determine how concerns and behavior are changing over time regarding issues of retirement and long-term care planning and how these trends could influence public information and outreach efforts so they are more effective.
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