McCook Daily Gazette: Column: State Treasurer Shane Osborn: Long-term care savings

Planning for financial security and healthcare in our later years is not something we may relish in considering. However, if you take the first steps today, it can be quite a painless process. Protecting the quality of life for yourself and your loved ones can be as simple as opening a Nebraska Long-Term Care Savings Plan (NLTCSP). It can allow you the freedom to continue living your life, on your terms, knowing that your family will never have to shoulder the financial burden of unexpected health concerns.

An LTCSP account is a state-tax-sheltered savings account opened by a Nebraskan at one of our participating banks or credit unions. All Nebraskans are eligible for an LTCSP account, and can begin to invest for their future. This efficient and cost-effective plan is a method of saving for your own potential health-care needs, while at the same time ensuring that your loved ones won't find themselves with burdensome bills at difficult times in life. With so much current uncertainty in our Social Security and Medicare systems, an LTCSP is a smart and dependable investment.

There are several tax-advantages that go hand-in-hand with NLTCSP accounts. Participants may deduct up to $1,000 ($2,000 filing jointly) from their federal income for Nebraska state income tax purposes by depositing an equal amount into a designated LTCSP account. Account deposits also accrue interest tax-free until withdrawn at any age, as long as they are used for long-term care needs (or transferred to a beneficiary after death). The money can be used to pay long-term care needs for spouses or others in which the account holder has an insurable interest. After the age of 50, tax-free withdrawals can also be made to pay for long-term care insurance.

The money saved in a Nebraska Long-Term Care Savings Plan can be reimbursed for any number of things, including nursing or assisted living facilities, in-home assistance, therapeutic care, health maintenance activities, home health services, assistive technology, rehabilitation treatments, and hospice care. What a relief it would be to know that you have funds set aside for such needs, and what a weight to be lifted in stressful times. With a LTCSP, you will also be free to make decisions regarding your own healthcare.

I encourage you to empower yourself. Take control over your financial future and contact a bank manager from one of our participating institutions about opening your own NLTCSP account today. Consider it one less thing to worry about in the future.

For more information about opening a Nebraska Long-Term Care Savings Plan, and a list of participating institutions, please visit treasurer.org.

Good advice. When doing long-term care planning know that you must health qualify for this protection, and there are many ways to right size insurance protection and bring the cost way down. Consumers interested in learning including information on pricing, a listing of leading LTC insurers and their ratings, how to save and even the latest tax deductibility rules should visit the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance's online Consumer Information Center. As the non-profit trade organization, they offer the best unbiased source of information on long-term care insurance freely accessible to the general public. Click on this link to read the free guide Reducing The Cost of Long-Term Care Insurance http://www.aaltci.org/free-guide/ . No personal information is required to access the guide.

Jesse Slome

Executive Director

American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance

http://www.aaltci.org/

-- Posted by jesseslome on Fri, Mar 5, 2010, at 3:17 PM