Living Benefits: Safeguarding the Retirement You Planned — Together

For many couples, retirement is the realization of decades of hard work and disciplined saving. Travel. Time with grandchildren. Even simple mornings on the porch together. But all too often, retirement planning focuses on accumulating wealth — while ignoring a risk that could quietly unravel everything: the cost and impact of long-term care.

The Hidden Threat in Retirement

Long-term care isn’t rare — it’s likely. Federal estimates show that about 70 % of adults age 65 and older will need some form of long-term care during their lifetime. Nearly 20 % will require care for more than five years.

At the same time, the costs of care continue to climb:
•    A semi-private room in a nursing home averaged roughly $119,000 per year in 2026.
•    Assisted living care now averages more than $70,000 annually.
•    Even home-based care often runs $40,000+ per year.

One in five Americans turning 65 today will face over $200,000 in long-term care costs — and these figures don’t include inflation, which continues to push costs higher.

Yet despite the risk, only a small fraction have traditional long-term care insurance.   That leaves most retirees to “self-fund” care from retirement accounts — a strategy that can quickly erode portfolios meant to support decades of expenses.

Why This Matters for Couples

When one spouse requires long-term care, the financial impact doesn’t stop with that person’s costs. Couples often make hard choices like:
•    Withdrawing taxable amounts from IRAs or 401(k)s
•    Selling investments at the wrong time
•    Reducing travel, entertainment, or everyday enjoyment
•    Delaying gifts, legacy plans, or charitable giving

Not only can these decisions shrink retirement savings — they can change the experience of retirement for the healthy spouse.

Life Insurance with Living Benefits: A Strategic Layer of Protection

Modern life insurance solutions with living benefits — including long-term care riders — offer a powerful alternative to relying entirely on retirement savings to pay care costs.

Here’s how it works:
•    If care is needed, policy values can be accessed (often tax-free) to help fund expenses.
•    Funds used for care don’t have to come from traditional retirement accounts.
•    If care is never needed, the policy pays a death benefit to beneficiaries, preserving legacy goals.

This structure creates a financial firewall: instead of depletion of retirement assets, care expenses are partially or fully supported by the policy — protecting the healthy spouse’s future income and lifestyle.

This dual-purpose design means couples can plan with confidence: they won’t have to choose between protecting their wealth and enjoying it together.

A Better Retirement Blueprint

Retirement isn’t just about saving enough. It’s about protection — against market volatility, inflation, and the unpredictable rise of health-related needs. Life insurance with living benefits helps couples protect the retirement they planned and enjoy the life they’ve worked for — together.

Retirement should be lived. Don’t let long-term care costs write the final chapter for your financial plan.