Don’t Accept the Default Plan

Let me ask you a quick question.  What’s a better … executing a plan or relying on the luck?

You know the answer – executing a plan. 

Unfortunately, that isn’t the case for most people.  If you recall from the OneAmerica Consumer Sentiment Survey that we released last November, one revelation was that consumers doubt that they will ever need care and only 16% are confident in their plan.

This is a sad situation because we all know that more than half of the population will need care at some point in their life.

The one thing that we need to do is ask some hard questions to move consumers / clients to take action and address the biggest financial risk to retirement – an extended healthcare event.  By engaging in a conversation, at worst, they devise a plan; at best they work with you and fund their plan. 

Remember, an extended healthcare (long term care) event will impact more than just the individual who is receiving care. And, those impacts are more than just financial

Another thing to consider is that most people expect their spouse and family to provide their care when it is needed.  What is surprising about this, according to the OneAmerica Consumer Sentiment Survey is more often than not, that plan has not been shared with the people that it will impact.

And there is more …

If an untrained spouse or family member is to provide care – is that something that they are physically, emotionally, and financially capable of doing? 

Is that caregiver able to stop working to provide the care that is needed and not sacrifice financially or otherwise? 

Are they physically capable of helping an adult move from one place to another without risking injury to either themselves or the person that they are caring for? 

And, do they have the emotional strength to handle what is unfolding in front of them every single day?

This is a heavy duty discussion that too often does not take place.  And, sadly, this leads to the acceptance of the default plan which is the plan of hope.

To remind you – the plan of  hope is that you hope that you stay healthy and do not need care.  But if you do, then hope that you have the resources (people, place, and money) to get the care that you need.  Then, you hope that the cost for your care doesn’t impact your spouse, your family, or any of the goals and dreams that you made when you were younger and healthy.

When you compare that to an intentional plan, there is no comparison.  The intentional plan wins every time by providing a blueprint of how things are to be executed whether care is needed or not.  Ultimately, it leads to peace of mind for everyone.

Let OneAmerica help achieve that peace of mind by providing the funding source for an extended healthcare / long term care events.   There are more than products involved – along with a designated pool of money to pay for care comes 30+ years of claims paying and Claims Concierge which makes the process easier.

Learn more about what is available from OneAmerica by contacting my internal Justin Fox at (844) 658-3725 or justinfox.isp@oneamerica.com or me at (678) 512-9627 or kevin.fisher@oneamerica.com

I look forward to hearing from you.  And, as always, thanks for taking time for me.

One last thing – don’t forget to check out this month’s Coffee Break video.

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