I want to thank Terry Savage for her brilliant column  in this week’s Chicago Sun-Times. She writes about the impending generation war. It will be a war based on age and wallets.

 A huge number of Baby Boomers — who’ve always gotten what they wanted and been promised ample benefits in their retirement years — will be pitted against the smaller, but equally vocal generation that will be taxed to pay for these promises.

 She writes, “Unlike the Federal government, states cannot simply “print” money or run budget deficits. So they’re forced to raise taxes or make spending cuts — or both.” Across the nation, she states, we’ve already seen cuts in “sports, the arts, and after school activities. These cuts hit working parents hard, and create a new generation of latch-key kids and at-risk children.” 

Savage writes, “The next battle will be fought over jobs. As the recovery develops it will become apparent that there will be fewer opportunities for younger workers to get jobs, or move ahead in their career. That’s because Baby Boomers are delaying retirement.” The dream of early retirement has been replaced by, “’Hanging on as long as I can.’ Working longer gives Boomers an opportunity to rebuild devastated 401(k) plans and hopefully sell their homes at a reasonable price when they’re ready to downsize.” 

Savage asks, “Will younger workers have the income to purchase Boomers’ homes if they can’t get Boomer jobs?” 

She states that one reason the health-care debate is stalled revolves around saving money through cuts in Medicare reimbursements. “The huge — and actively voting — Boomer generation is about to demand that the contributions they’ve made into the system now be used to take care of them in their senior years, even though the cost will be greater than their payments.”

 In my favorite part of her column she states, “when they were young, schools expanded even using mobile classrooms to give Boomers an education. As they age, they will demand medical and custodial care. We’re likely to see the equivalent of those mobile classrooms in temporary trailers to expand nursing home facilities.” I love this part, because I’ve had a very similar vision for many years. Click here  for a blog I did on just this subject.

 She closes by saying, “The cost of caring for the aging population of our country will pit seniors against the next generation of workers who will be taxed to pay for the benefits that Boomers have been promised…Pitting Grandma and Grandpa against their grandchildren is a cruel war.” 

Readers, please take heed and buy long-term care insurance if you don’t already own it.

On being able to sustain our current methods of funding long-term care:

“Medicaid is the principal funding source for long-term care (LTC) throughout the United States. Although LTC users are only seven percent of the Medicaid population, they account for more than half of the program’s costs nationally.” Stephen Moses, The Center for Long-Term Care Reform 

“Within 12 years, without an increase in interest rates, the single-largest line item in the federal budget would be interest on the federal debt. That means more than defense, more than social security, more than Medicare.” David Walker, Peter G. Peterson Foundation 

Long-term care is expensive. One year of care in a nursing home, based on the 2008 Texas average, costs over $43,000 for a semi-private room. www.ownyourfuturetexas.org

On the urgent need for responsible long-term care planning:

The lifetime probability of becoming disabled in at least two activities of daily living or of being cognitively impaired is 68% for people age 65 and older. - The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) 

“The greatest risk is not the longevity of this bear market, or even another bear market. It’s the devastating cost of long-term care.” – Terry Savage, nationally syndicated Chicago Sun-Times personal finance columnist. 

Here are comments just sent to Suze Orman and Oprah Magazine:

Dear Suze:

I am your admirer. You do the world tremendous good by recommending purchase of long-term care insurance (LTCi). The comments on LTCi in your February 2010 Oprah Magazine column are all sound except for your advice to purchase it at age 59 or 60.

 Advising LTCi purchase at age 59 or 60 is at odds with CMS http://www.longtermcare.gov/LTC/Main_Site/Planning_LTC/Campaign/Kit/audio/track03.mp3, Terry Savage (page 232 of her book “The Savage Truth”), and every LTC insurance expert I know.

 I hope you will examine the compelling reasons why experts recommend completion of LTCi purchase by age 55 and sooner, and update your advice accordingly.

 Honey Leveen

www.honeyleveen.com, www.ltcqueen.com

Terry Savage is a nationally syndicated financial columnist with the Chicago Sun-Times. A huge high point of the 8th National Long-Term Care Insurance Summit I returned from earlier this week was Terry Savage’s keynote luncheon address. Terry’s presentation received a well-deserved standing ovation.

Terry is a huge proponent of long-term care insurance. She has done extensive research on it. Knowledge is power: Terry believes LTCi ownership is essential for financial well-being and economic viability throughout your whole life. She is passionate about this.

I read Terry’s latest book, “The New Savage Number” on the way home. It is well-researched, highly readable and understandable, and very useful. It gives a step by step approach to achieve over-all financial well-being.

Terry, I’m a huge fan of yours!

Mothers spend their lives worrying about you — and they never stop. But as mothers grow older, they have another worry: Not becoming a burden to their children.

With Mother’s Day approaching, why not purchase long-term care insurance for your parents? There’s not a more appropriate, caring, considerate gift you can give. Siblings can chip in together and wind up with very, very low premiums.

LTC insurance is the gift that ensures dignity, options, choices and access if care is needed. LTCI greatly contributes to keeping families united and stress-free. Since LTCI provides the money to access the most desirable care options, LTCI policy holders often access the right kind of care, sooner.

Without LTCI, families often experience great duress, stress, and panic because they are forced to react, after a health event triggers a care need. Families are not prepared. Family members can be at odds with each other about the best course of action.  Sadly, this discord can carry forward to become mom or dad’s undesired legacy. How I wish I hadn’t seen so many completely avoidable instances where this happened!

If you are still mired in a state of denial about about why more and more people understand that LTCI is an absolute necessity, please contact me.

I want to thank nationally syndicated columnist Terry Savage of the Chicago Sun-Times for inspiring me to write this. Terry has written a wonderful and powerful piece about about giving LTC Insurance for Mother’s Day. Click here for her article.

Many thanks to Terry Savage, of the Chicago Sun-Times, for her continued responsible, fair, accurate reporting on long-term care insurance. Here’s a link to her September 15, 2008 column.