There are a variety of different factors to consider when planning for long-term care. First, you should consider where you plan to live when you retire, what setting you prefer, and how much in long-term care payments you can afford to pay out-of-pocket.
A few other points to make note of include: the age at which you apply for your policy, who to insure on the policy, and avoiding the assumption that you can pay for LTC on your own. The cost of LTC insurance is based off of your age and health when you apply, so the older and worse these two factors are, the higher your insurance may cost. There can be a large difference in the cost of insurance when purchasing it at age 50 compared to age 60. Another factor to avoid is insuring only one spouse on the policy. This can increase financial and emotional burden of LTC if the opposite spouse unexpectedly needs care. Lastly, depending on your financial situation it may be easy to assume you can pay for LTC on your own. Even for wealthy individuals, paying a manageable insurance premium may help protect your loved ones and assets.