Long-Term Care Opt-in or Opt-out?

[madDawg228]

My HR Dept has reminded me that -

"Washington State has recently passed a new law mandating public Long-Term Care (LTC) benefits for Washington residents. To fund those benefits, all people employed within the state of Washington will be subject to a new payroll tax beginning January 1, 2022. Under that law, you will have one opportunity to opt out of this tax by having a long-term care insurance (LTC) policy in place by November 1st, 2021."

The company I work for is rolling out their own LTC plan with their insurance company, but I still need to look over WA's initial plan and compare it to theirs. I'm on my H's insurance plans, because my company doesn't have the best options, and I'm thinking theirs won't be the best compared to the basic WA plan.

Are you and your SO opting in or out?

I feel like I'm in a hot-mess stage of life and haven't been able to research ahead of time like I usually do with things like this 

[theoriginalbean]

We're opting out and got our own private policy that works out better for us, in the long run. It was confusing AF, we talked with insurance companies and a financial advisor and I still honestly don't understand exactly what we're doing but I also don't have the mental energy to engage with the process, so I let the husband take the lead on this one.

[sakura]

We opted to go with a plan offered through my employer. They said in almost any case it’s better to go with something other than the state plan. We chose my employer plan because for the WA state plan you forfeit premiums and benefits if you move out of WA for 5 years and we’re not sure if we’ll remain here long term. My employer plan is portable even if I leave the company. There’s also not a cap on the WA plan so it’s 0.58% of your salary, regardless of what your salary is.

If you decide to sign up through your employer, do it ASAP. Most private insurers have stopped offering LTC because they’re so backed up and can’t get through all of the applications before the deadline. My employer moved up the deadline of when we needed to turn in the paperwork, and there’s still not a guarantee that it will get done in time.

[InBetweenDays]

We're going to default to the state plan. I spoke with an agent the other week and he went over the only real plan that is left for us to sign up for. We'd have to pay $7500 initially and then $4200 a year for 10 years. That is WAY more than we'll ever pay into the state plan. We will have enough of a nest egg that we won't need to rely on a LTC plan. So we just plan to save most of the difference between the state and private plans and continue to invest it as we are currently doing.

[sakura]

Sept 16, 2021 11:05:06 GMT -5 InBetweenDays said:

We're going to default to the state plan. I spoke with an agent the other week and he went over the only real plan that is left for us to sign up for. We'd have to pay $7500 initially and then $4200 a year for 10 years. That is WAY more than we'll ever pay into the state plan. We will have enough of a nest egg that we won't need to rely on a LTC plan. So we just plan to save most of the difference between the state and private plans and continue to invest it as we are currently doing.

Wow, that’s an insane quote! I’d go with the WA plan in that case too. My plan premium is $11.10/mo unsubsidized and raises slightly each year. I didn’t realize there’d be such a wide range in the market.

[InBetweenDays]

Sept 16, 2021 11:22:05 GMT -5 sakura said:

Sept 16, 2021 11:05:06 GMT -5 InBetweenDays said:

We're going to default to the state plan. I spoke with an agent the other week and he went over the only real plan that is left for us to sign up for. We'd have to pay $7500 initially and then $4200 a year for 10 years. That is WAY more than we'll ever pay into the state plan. We will have enough of a nest egg that we won't need to rely on a LTC plan. So we just plan to save most of the difference between the state and private plans and continue to invest it as we are currently doing.

Wow, that’s an insane quote! I’d go with the WA plan in that case too. My plan premium is $11.10/mo unsubsidized and raises slightly each year. I didn’t realize there’d be such a wide range in the market.

I mean the benefit offered was pretty nice. It included a death benefit that would pay out if we didn't use all or any of the LTC benefit. And the monthly LTC benefit was pretty high should we need it (probably would have covered a pretty nice facility). But still overall not worth it for our scenario.

[niq]

We're not opting out. As far as I can tell the LTC insurance market is just broken - any policy anyone will offer you, you can save the same amount of money. Easier said than done I guess.

Our life insurance policy has clauses where your can draw on it for long-term disability, or if you are terminally ill.