Senior

• LONG TERM CARE
• MEDICARE SUPPLEMENTS
• PRESCRIPTION PLANS
• SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

LONG TERM CARE

ASSETS

• INDEPENDENCE
• FINANCIAL SECURITY

You are planning for everything you want  in retirement. Travel. Recreation. A relaxed, independent lifestyle. And you  are counting  on your growing assets to make it possible. But a serious accident  or extended illness -  whether during your earning years, or even after you retire - could change your lifestyle.  In fact, long term care costs can quickly consume assets you've worked a lifetime to  accumulate. UNUM can help with Long Term Care (LTC) insurance that  helps preserve the assets that are the foundation of your personal independence - and your  most important plans.

Who Provides The Care?
By the year  2020, 12 million older Americans will need long term care. Most will be cared  for at home; family members and friends are the sole caregivers for 70% of elderly people.(1)

A recent survey by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and National Alliance for  Caregiving indicates that almost one-fourth of American households are currently providing   informal, unpaid care for an older friend or relative.(2)

Who Pays The Bills?
In most cases, long term care recipients and their families - people like you - bear the  cost of long term  care. The Health Insurance Association of America estimates that about  one-third of all nursing home costs are paid out-of-pocket by individuals and their  families. Eight percent is paid by Medicare, for short-term  skilled nursing home care  following hospitalization. More than half of all nursing home costs are paid for by  Medicaid, after nursing-home residents spend-down their own savings to national poverty  level  guidelines and become eligible.(3)

Could You Afford The Cost Of Long Term Care?
The cost of long term care is high - well beyond the reach of most people. Bringing a  health care aid  into your home just three times a week easily can cost $1,000 each month,  or $12,000 each year. As a national average, a year in a nursing home is estimated to cost  $40,000. In some regions, it can easily cost twice  that amount.(4)

Sources:
1 HIAA, Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance, 1996.
2 "More Spend Time Caring for Elders," Karen S. Peterson, USA  Today, March 18  1997, p. 1D.
3 HIAA, Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance, 1996.
4 Ibid

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