Age Wave/Harris Survey Says Consumers See LTC as Family and Emotional Issues More than Financial

Genworth has sponsored a very important survey that confirms what I've been saying for years. The long-term care issue is much broader than a financial concern and we as an industry need to treat it that way. The major takeaways for me from this survey are:

When asked their greatest fear about having a long-term illness, people are over five times more worried about being a burden on their family than dying, and that the greatest worry of becoming a caregiver is the emotional strain – even more than the financial costs.

It's so important that families talk about long-term care, and it simply isn't happening. Families should discuss the type of care you would want, the role of each family member in the situation and most importantly, how the care will be paid for. The survey says that:

♦ 92% of people haven’t discussed all three topics with their spouse;

♦ 95% of parents haven’t discussed them with their adult children; and

♦ 96% of adult children haven’t discussed them with their parents.

Click here to see the survey results.