Protection Planning

Medicare provides limited coverage for skilled nursing facility care following a qualifying hospital stay, and that coverage phases out after a defined period. It generally does not cover custodial care — the type of ongoing assistance with daily activities that most people associate with long-term care. Medicaid may cover long-term care for those who meet financial eligibility requirements, but accessing Medicaid benefits typically requires spending down most of your assets first. For most retirees, Medicare alone is not a long-term care strategy.

Earlier is almost always better. Long-term care insurance and hybrid policies are priced based on your health at the time of application, meaning that waiting until your health picture changes can significantly limit your options or make coverage unaffordable. Ideally, this conversation happens in the years leading up to retirement, while your health still allows for a broad range of options. That said, there are strategies worth evaluating at nearly any stage.

A hybrid or combination policy combines life insurance or an annuity with a long-term care benefit rider. If you need long-term care, the policy provides a pool of benefits to cover those costs. If you don’t, the death benefit passes to your beneficiaries. Many clients find this structure appealing because it avoids the “use it or lose it” concern associated with traditional long-term care insurance. Whether a hybrid policy is the right fit depends on your full financial picture, health situation, and goals.

A Health Savings Account (HSA) offers a triple tax advantage: eligible contributions are tax-deductible, growth can accumulate tax-free, and withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax-free. HSA funds are owned by you, can carry over from year to year, and may be invested if you are eligible to contribute, making them especially valuable for long-term healthcare planning. A Flexible Spending Account (FSA) can also help reduce taxable income, but it is typically employer-owned, often subject to use-it-or-lose-it rules, and generally designed for near-term healthcare expenses. Both can be useful, but they serve different roles and should be coordinated with your broader retirement plan.

Annuities convert a lump sum of assets into a guaranteed income stream, either for a defined period or for your lifetime. For clients who want the certainty of income that cannot be outlived — beyond what Social Security and a pension may provide — certain annuity structures can be a valuable tool. However, the annuity market is complex, and not all products are appropriate for all clients. We evaluate annuity options only within the context of your full plan and with a clear-eyed view of their costs and tradeoffs.

Life insurance may play a role in retirement when it protects a surviving partner, supports a legacy goal, or solves a specific estate or income need. During your working years, life insurance typically replaces income that your family depends on. In retirement, the question shifts: is there a surviving partner who would lose a pension or Social Security benefit? Is there a legacy goal that life insurance could efficiently fund? For some clients, existing coverage is no longer needed. For others, it plays an important role. We review your coverage in the context of your plan rather than assuming one answer applies to everyone.