How strategic long–term care planning ensured financial independence for one person, preserving their legacy, while owing over $350k toward end-of-life care.
THE CHALLENGE:
In this personal journey, Summit witnessed the challenges of financial freedom when facing end of life care needs.
Gene and Peggy were a couple thriving into their late 50s. Following his retirement from a career-driven lifestyle, his wife’s unfortunate passing left Gene alone while being confronted with financial challenges. As his health deteriorated, he required in-home care and later more expansive full- nursing services.
Gene faced financial burdens amounting to monthly fees of $12,000 at their peak for nursing care.
This leaves one glaring question. How would Gene be able to pay the sizable bills that far exceeded his retirement income?
WHAT WE DID:
Gene received social security, a pension, and held other assets he could liquidate – but at the cost of financial instability. Independence was of paramount concern, and a loss of resources would leave less that he could pass down to his grandkids.
Over the course of 5 years, Gene incurred over $350k in medical bills as a result of the nursing care and treatments that he went through while receiving necessary care.
Summit’s personal consultation was pivotal during a difficult period for Gene, who was now tasked with managing finances alone while receiving the care he needed.
Our team offered clarity on how they could navigate this situation.
The answer was to take full advantage of the long-term care policy Gene had begun paying into in his 50s. We assisted by helping him utilize the policy to its fullest extent.
THE RESULT:
Paying out $3,200 per month, the policy supplemented Gene’s social security and pension, allowing him to put away the excess in savings.
When Gene was confronted with $12,000 in monthly costs for full-nursing care, he was able to utilize the monthly savings, enabled by the long-term care policy, to pay for the care needed in the last 6 months of his life.
