When Is the Right Time to Buy Long-Term Care Insurance?

After more than 25 years specializing in long-term care insurance, one of the questions I hear all the time is:

When is the right age to buy long-term care insurance?

My answer is actually pretty simple.

Buy it when you can comfortably afford it and while your health allows you to qualify.

There isn’t one perfect age. And I say that not only as someone who has spent my career helping people plan for long-term care, but also as someone who owns long-term care insurance myself.

I Bought My First Policy at 38

I started working in the long-term care insurance industry when I was 27. By the time I was 38, I had already spent more than a decade hearing families’ stories and seeing firsthand what happens when someone needs care.

So I bought a long-term care insurance policy.

And no, none of my 38-year-old friends lined up to buy one with me.

At that age, long-term care wasn’t exactly a popular dinner conversation. Most of my friends weren’t thinking about needing care someday. Why would they be?

But I had an advantage – or maybe a disadvantage.

I knew too much.

I knew health could change unexpectedly. I knew that needing care wasn’t something that happened only to people in their 80s and 90s. And I knew that the healthy 38-year-old version of me had something that the older version of me might not have someday:

The ability to qualify for coverage.

So I bought the policy.

Then I Bought More

Ten years later, at 48, I added another policy. My husband was 56 at the time, and we purchased additional coverage for him as well.

What’s interesting is that I value those policies far more today than I did when I bought them.

When I was 38, buying long-term care insurance was largely an intellectual decision. I understood the numbers. I understood the risk. I understood underwriting.

Today, it’s much more personal.

I’ve now spent decades listening to people’s stories. I’ve watched what families go through when a parent, spouse or partner needs care. I’ve seen how quickly a health event can change a family’s plans.

And yes, knowing myself, I may even add more coverage someday.

Some people might think that’s a little crazy coming from someone who already owns multiple policies.

But here’s why.

If I Need Care, I Want Choices

I know myself.

If I need long-term care someday, I want good care. Actually, I want luxury.

I want choices about where I live. I want choices about who takes care of me. If I want to remain in my own home and bring care to me, I want that option. If there’s an exceptional community or care setting I prefer, I don’t want cost to be the deciding factor.

That’s what long-term care insurance means to me.

It’s not about assuming I’m going to end up needing care.

I hope I never use a dollar of my coverage.

It’s about knowing that if something does happen, I’ve created options for myself and my family.

“But Couldn’t I Just Self-Insure?”

I work with many financially successful people, and this comes up all the time.

They’ll say, “I have enough money. Couldn’t I just pay for care myself?”

In many cases, yes.

But being able to pay for something doesn’t necessarily mean you should retain 100% of the risk.

For someone with substantial savings and investments, the conversation may not be about insuring every possible dollar of long-term care. It may be about deciding how much risk you want to transfer to an insurance company and how much you’re comfortable keeping yourself.

That’s a very different conversation.

I don’t believe everyone needs unlimited coverage. I don’t believe everyone needs the largest policy available. And I certainly don’t believe everyone needs the same type of policy.

Some people prefer traditional long-term care insurance. Others like hybrid or asset-based policies because they want benefits available if they need care but also want value for their family if they don’t.

The right plan is the one that fits your finances, your health and what you’re actually trying to protect.

Don’t Wait for a “Perfect” Age

I think people sometimes get too focused on finding the perfect age to buy.

Is it 50? 55? 60?

There isn’t a magic birthday when long-term care insurance suddenly makes sense.

I’ve talked with people in their 50s who thought they had plenty of time, only to develop a health condition that made coverage more expensive, limited their options or prevented them from qualifying altogether.

I’ve also helped healthy people in their 60s obtain excellent coverage.

That’s why I come back to the same two questions:

Can you comfortably afford it?

Does your health allow you to qualify for it today?

If the answer to both is yes, then I think it’s worth having the conversation.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you should buy a policy. Sometimes after looking at someone’s situation, the answer really is that they don’t need one – or that now isn’t the right time.

But I’d rather have that conversation while you still have choices.

Your Health Is Part of the Financial Decision

This is one of the biggest things people misunderstand about long-term care insurance.

You can’t necessarily decide at 65 that you’re finally ready and assume an insurance company will sell you a policy.

Long-term care insurance is medically underwritten.

Your health history matters.

That’s one reason I don’t love the advice to simply “wait until you’re older.” Yes, waiting may mean you’re not paying premiums as long. But you’re also betting that your health will cooperate.

Sometimes it does.

Sometimes it doesn’t.

And after doing this since I was 27, I’ve seen enough to know that none of us can predict that perfectly.

The Policy I Bought at 38 Means More to Me Today

When I look back at that 38-year-old version of myself buying her first LTC policy, I’m very glad she did it.

Not because I expect something terrible to happen.

And not because I’m afraid of getting older.

I’m glad because she gave the older version of me something valuable:

Options.

That’s really what I believe good long-term care planning is about.

It’s not simply buying an insurance policy.

It’s deciding how you would want to live if you needed help someday, what kind of care you’d want, how much financial risk you’re comfortable retaining, and how much you’d rather transfer to an insurance company.

And ideally, you make those decisions before your health makes them for you.

So when someone asks me for the best age to buy long-term care insurance, my answer hasn’t changed:

Buy it when you can comfortably afford it and while your health allows you to qualify.

Then go live your life.

Carol J. Guilbault, CLTC
Long-Term Care Insurance Specialist | LTC Simple

Carol works with individuals and couples in Washington and California.