For Long Term Care Insurance The Best Age To Apply Is Up To 64

There are many myths about long term care insurance including what's the right age to buy it. Some say in your 40s. Others say it pays to wait until just after you retire and are closer to the age of needing actual long-term care services.

According to consumer research and a report from the national trade organization, the leading query posed by consumers is 'what's the best age to buy long-term care insurance?"

They find that the right age to start long term care planning is somewhere between the age of 52 and definitely before completing your 64th year. There is nothing wrong with starting earlier but there is a very good reason to do so before age 65.

The younger age recommendation has mostly to do with conflicting financial priorities. Adults with families in their 40s and early 50s are still facing saving for children's education, including college tuition. Perhaps more importantly, according to research, they are least likely to face being medically declined for long term care insurance. Only 11 percent of applicants below the age of 50 are declined by insurers.

As individuals reach their 50s, two important changes take place. First, from a financial perspective, children have finished schooling and often have moved out of the house. There are fewer bills and a small percentage of individuals today even find they are paying off their home mortgages.

Perhaps more importantly, individuals are starting to experience the declines in health that are a precursor of things to come. These declines in health and the addition of medications being prescribed by the physicians, are just the reason an increasing number are declined for long term care insurance. Between ages 50 and 59, some 17 percent are declined each year. It increases to almost one in four for those between ages 60 and 69.

The reason to act prior to reaching age 65, is that 65 is the magic and awaited for age when most American adults qualify for Medicare health coverage benefits. Ask anyone within a year or two of Medicare eligibility and they can't wait. They delay seeing their doctor knowing that once Medicare kicks in, they are basically free to have every little ailment examined and treated.

And therein lies the reason to act prior to this important milestone. You finally visit the doctor thanks to Medicare and his or her diagnosis makes you uninsurable or heath-rated so that you have to pay more for insurance coverage. It's those conditions that are not life threatening but that will worsen as you age that long term care insurers are most cautious about.

According to research conducted annually by the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance http://www.aaltci.org between ages 70 and 79 the percentage applicants declined rises to almost half, 45 percent. The organization reported that in 2010 over half (56%) of new buyers were between ages 55 and 64.

Your health is the most important factor when considering long-term care insurance costs. If you have some health issues or take some medications, as everyone does after age 50, you'll want to work with a knowledgeable specialist who knows which conditions or ailments the various insurers accept or deny. Let them shop your health to the leading insurers.