Tips to help you prepare for long term disability

Canadian men and women are living well into their senior years, making the likelihood of long-term care more likely and increasing the need for preparation. The CBC recently reported that men live an average of 80 years and women 84 years in Canada. With that longer lifespan is a greater likelihood of needing long-term health care at some time, particularly during retirement years when personal incomes are often fixed and the cost of treatment is much higher than when the individual was younger and their body had a greater ability to heal and rebound from ill health.

• Although the 1984 Canada Health Act addressed individual health care by making it a national responsibility, it wholly excluded long-term care, which remains a provincial concern for regulating long-term care in facilities as well as at home.
• Depending on where individuals live, the availability, cost and quality of long-term care can vary greatly from one province to the next.
• That means that individuals must plan ahead for the increasing likelihood of needing long-term care for themselves or their loved ones, including spouses, parents and possibly even their children.

• With baby boomers reaching their retirement years, the need for long-term care is growing exponentially in Canada, putting more pressure on facilities, according to the Council on Ageing in Ottawa.
• The council reports that the number of Canadians over age 65 will triple over the next 30 years and account for about 25 per cent of the nation's population.
• Complicating the matter, Statistics Canada reports about 10 per cent of Canadians will need long term care by the time they reach age 55, 30 per cent by age 65 and half by age 75.
• With the federal government not providing long-term care, that means many families and individuals will have to bear much of the costs themselves.

• The best way to prepare for the likelihood of needing long-term care is to carry long-term care insurance, which is offered by many life insurance companies as well as health insurance providers in Canada.
• Long-term care insurance can help to pay for temporary or elongated stays in care facilities, which will have fewer available beds as the baby boomer generation continues boosting the number of retirees in Canada.
• Long-term care insurance also can help to pay for in-home care, which many seniors and their families find beneficial and preferable to long stays in facilities.
• As with any type of health or life insurance policy, the younger an individual is when buying coverage, the more affordable it is, making it a wise investment for those who have not reached retirement age and still have strong earning years ahead of them.