Don't Let the Cost of Care Undo a Lifetime of Saving

The Real Cost of Long-Term Care in Texas

The numbers are hard to ignore. A private room in a Texas nursing home averages over $80,000 per year — and that figure climbs every year. Assisted living and in-home care aren't far behind. For a couple, the risk doubles. Without a plan in place, a single extended care event can wipe out decades of savings in just a few years.

Medicare covers very little. It pays for short-term skilled nursing care after a qualifying hospital stay, but it does not cover custodial care — the kind of day-to-day help most people actually need. That gap is where families get caught off guard.

The good news is that there are modern solutions designed specifically to close that gap without the drawbacks that made traditional long-term care insurance so frustrating to buy.

Why Most People Have Moved Away from Traditional Long-Term Care Policies

Traditional long-term care insurance had one major problem: the premiums could increase significantly over time. People who bought policies decades ago have watched their costs climb well beyond what they originally budgeted. Some dropped their coverage entirely — losing every dollar they paid in — because they simply couldn't afford the new premiums.

That's a painful outcome. And it's one of the main reasons asset-based long-term care planning has become the preferred approach for people who want protection without the uncertainty.

Asset-based plans — also called hybrid plans — are built on either an annuity or a life insurance policy with a long-term care rider attached. The cost is fixed at the time you set up the plan. Your premium never increases. Your benefit is guaranteed. And if you never need care, your money doesn't disappear.

What Is Asset-Based Long-Term Care, and How Does It Work?

Asset-based long-term care uses money you already have — savings, a CD, an old annuity, or a life insurance policy — and repositions it into a plan that does two jobs at once. It grows your money and provides a pool of tax-advantaged funds available for long-term care expenses if you ever need them.

Here's how the two most common structures work:

• Long-term care annuity: You place a lump sum into a fixed or indexed annuity with a long-term care rider. If you need care, the policy multiplies your benefit — often two to three times your original deposit — to cover nursing home, assisted living, or in-home care costs. If you never need care, your account value passes to your beneficiaries.
• Hybrid life insurance with LTC rider: A permanent life insurance policy with a long-term care benefit attached. You can access the death benefit early to pay for care. If you never use the LTC benefit, your heirs receive the full death benefit. Either way, your money works.

Both approaches solve the "what if I never need it" problem that makes traditional LTC insurance feel like a gamble. With an asset-based plan, there is no throwing money away. You use it for care, or you leave it behind.

What Makes Asset-Based Plans Worth a Closer Look

These plans aren't right for everyone, but for the right person they offer a combination of guarantees that's hard to find anywhere else in the retirement planning world.

• Fixed cost. Your premium is set when the plan is established and never increases — no surprises, no renegotiations, no dropped coverage.
• Guaranteed benefit pool. The care benefit is defined upfront. You know exactly how much is available and how long it will last.
• Tax-advantaged care payments. Long-term care benefits paid from these plans are generally received income-tax-free.
• Return of premium. If you never need care, your original deposit passes to your beneficiaries — often with growth.
• Flexibility in how care is received. Most plans cover nursing home care, assisted living, and in-home care, giving you options about where and how you receive help.

Greg Burch and our team work with multiple carriers to find the plan structure that fits your existing assets, your health situation, and your goals. We don't push one product — we find the right fit.

Long-term care planning works best when it's done before you need it. Waiting until your health changes can limit your options or make you ineligible for certain plans altogether. The ideal window for most people is somewhere between ages 55 and 70, when health qualifications are easier to meet and premiums are lower.

You may want to explore long-term care protection if you:

• Have retirement savings you want to preserve for a spouse or heirs
• Are concerned about burdening your family with caregiving responsibilities
• Have seen a parent or loved one go through a long-term care event and understand the cost firsthand
• Want to stay in control of where and how you receive care — not leave it to chance
• Have an old annuity, CD, or savings account that isn't doing much and could be repositioned

A conversation with us costs nothing. We'll look at what you have, explain what's available, and give you an honest picture of whether an asset-based plan makes sense for your situation.