Clients want to avoid nursing homes — or even talking about it

A good chunk of the American population over 65 is expected to need long-term care, but few are actually preparing for it. Even affluent individuals shy away from discussing their long-term-care plans with their financial advisers, according to a recent survey from Sun Life Financial Inc., an insurer that sells life insurance that also covers LTC needs. Out of some 401 affluent individuals with at least $500,000 in investible assets, 85% said that they haven't discussed long-term care with a financial adviser. The poll was conducted online between May 26 and June 13. About half of those individuals said that the topic is outside of their advisers' range of expertise, and about a quarter said that they would rather not allocate their resources toward long-term care. But affluent individuals are also tight-lipped with family members on the topic. Fully 58% of unmarried and affluent participants haven't talked about their LTC plans with anyone, according to the survey. Meanwhile, 28% of those who are married have yet to broach the issue with their partner. Of individuals with adult children, 63% haven't talked about long-term care with them. Sun Life also polled 1,015 respondents across the wealth spectrum and found similar results, with 95% of respondents saying they haven't discussed their LTC wants with an adviser. About a third said they haven't brought up the issue with their mate, because they feel uncomfortable about it. They may want to rethink that approach. While few middle-age Americans have discussed elderly care — or how they'll pay for it — most are adamant about how they want to be treated. Fully 51% of the 1,015 respondents said they would oppose moving into a care facility if their partner were living elsewhere. And about three-quarters of the affluent respondents said they would prefer surviving five years at home as opposed to 10 years in a nursing facility. Advisers hoping to prompt a conversation with clients might want to ask them a simple question: “Which asset do you sell first if something like this happens?” asked Bob Klein, vice president of life strategy and linked benefits at Sun Life. “Long-term care is a big-enough issue with clients that it should start to be part of the regimen when advisees ask questions.”