Not having a health care strategy, retirement advice from Steve Sexton

Steve Sexton, President of Sexton Advisory Group and host of his very own radio show, “Winning in Life,” is also featured on the San Diego Entertainer’s E&L TV show. Steve has been providing expert financial advice to E&L viewers for over three years. On this month’s segment, he continues his five part series on San Diego Living on the CW called the “5 most costly mistakes retirees make” and introduces mistake number four.

Mistake #4: Not having a health care strategy.

Many people don’t really think about how much long term care might cost them in the future. It’s not something that people like to think they need. However, various studies show that 40-60% of people will need long term care later in their lives. Steve states that Medicare covers almost none of these costs and you need to take the necessary steps to ensure that you are covered in the future. Here are three steps Steve recommends:

Step 1: Identify the impact that the cost of care can have on your portfolio. According to Genworth Financial, a nursing home could cost over $80,000 a year in California and in-home care could cost over $40,000 a year. If your portfolio can handle it, go ahead and insure yourself. But if you know you can’t afford it, consider Step 2.

Step 2: Consider other ways to protect yourself. Look into the different types of insurances that could fit your needs. There are other protection alternatives such as: traditional long term care insurance, long term care riders on annuities, and long term care riders on life insurance.

Step 3: Make a decision and take action! Put a logical plan in place. Long term care expenses could devastate your long term financial security and the odds of it occurring are just too high. If you don’t like talking about this topic, take appropriate action now and put the topic to rest.

Most people don’t have a process in place to address these issues. For those who are interested in more advice from Steve, contact Sexton Advisory Group today for the free white paper on the “5 most costly mistakes retirees can make,” You can also tune into his radio show, Winning In Life Radio at 9:00 AM every Sunday on KBCQ 1170 AM.