I’m in my 50s. My mother died from Alzheimer’s. Do I need long-term-care insurance?

I’m in my 50s. My mother died from Alzheimer’s. Do I need long-term-care insurance?

Quentin Fottrell

Sat, September 19, 2026 at 5:46 PM GMT+3 7 min read

Dear Quentin,

My husband, 59, and I, 55, are planning to retire over the next few years, and this is one of the biggest unknowns I'm struggling with. My mom had Alzheimer's disease and spent seven years in a really nice memory-care facility in a smaller town. It cost about $7,000 a month. Thankfully, my parents had purchased long-term-care insurance and had paid premiums for about 12 years.

My dad died shortly after being diagnosed with cancer, so his policy was never used. But my mom's policy ended up being worth its weight in gold. It essentially covered all of her care. By the time my mother died, the insurance company had paid out almost $600,000. We only paid about $100 a month for some extras. Needless to say, that experience has made me think.

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I've looked into long-term-care insurance, but the premiums are so incredibly expensive, and I worry about what they'll cost by the time it makes sense for me to seriously consider a policy. We're fortunate financially. After 35 years in the corporate grind, we'll have substantial retirement savings; we've always saved carefully; and we have no debt or mortgage.

I also genuinely love my job, so I'm perfectly happy to work longer if that makes sense. What I really don't want is to leave our two kids with a huge financial burden someday if one or both of us need years of expensive care. Do I self-insure? Buy long-term-care insurance? Use some combination of investments and insurance? Are there good retirement-planning tools?

I know Medicare is part of the equation, but I'd like more control over our options than simply hoping it will be enough. I'm doing everything I can on the preventative-care and healthy-lifestyle front, but unfortunately there are no guarantees. Right now, my strategy is to save as much as humanly possible and hope for the best.

If you have a crystal ball that will tell me I will need memory care in old age, please share.

In My Fifties

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Dear Fifties,

Your 50s are actually not a bad time to take out long-term care insurance.

Financially speaking, given your age, you're not too young and you're not too old. Yes, you probably would have spent less on monthly premiums had you taken out this insurance policy in your 40s, but you would also have been paying it for a decade. It's hard to predict the future and get that perfect balance. If your mother had Alzheimer's, your own risk is higher than average from a statistical point of view, although that does not mean that you will develop the disease.

In fact, AARP suggests that the optimal age to buy a long-term-care policy is between 60 and 65. "This Goldilocks age range is not too young and not too old," it says. "A still-affordable monthly premium coupled with a total savings is a winning combination." However, waiting until age 65 is a gamble. Anyone could be rejected because health or medical-test results indicate a high probability of problems that might lead to a need for long-term care.

So if you're in your 50s, you have time. Insurance companies will ask about family history, including whether relatives have suffered from dementia, and at what age; ditto for heart disease, among other age-related diseases. Premiums vary depending on your age, health, benefit amount, inflation protection and other features. Always ask how future premium increases are handled: traditional long-term-care premiums are not necessarily guaranteed to remain static.

As you point out, long-term care can be expensive, especially if you're in care for many years like your mother. A nursing-home room could cost $100,000 a year or more than $60,000 for assisted living. Medicare does not typically cover ongoing long-term care. Medicaid can help cover nursing-home care for people who meet its financial and medical requirements, but those rules vary by state. From what you say, you're a long way from needing Medicaid.

Taking out long-term care insurance buys you peace of mind in addition to future-proofing your medical care. It also takes your retirement needs into account. With the help of a certified financial planner who specializes in this area, you could stress test your retirement with a variety of options. You can either self-insure and set aside enough money for a prolonged period of care, buy traditional long-term-care insurance, or decide upon some kind of combination.

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Hybrid vs. traditional insurance

Hybrid long-term-care insurance can be pricier than a traditional policy. Hybrid policies combine life insurance with a long-term-care rider or use an annuity structure. If you don't use the rider, the remaining value goes to your estate, so the money is not lost as it would be with traditional "use it or lose it." You should also take into account the benefit period, inflation protection and premium-rate increases, and, as obvious as it sounds, what the policy actually covers.

Traditional LTC insurance is sometimes seen as less attractive because of the risk that you pay into the policy and either let it lapse when premiums become too expensive, or you don't end up needing it. Insurance professionals call this the "zero return" structure, which is why hybrid policies can seem more attractive. You are buying peace of mind and financial support if you become infirm. But as you point out, all policies have risks.

As for the surprises, nasty or otherwise, hire an independent specialist or fee-only financial planner to review any policy and compare it with self-insurance. Make sure there's an inflation rider — inflation over 30 years could erode the value of your policy if you don't have one in place — and that the policy covers dementia. And, yes, check the waiting period (30, 60, 90 or 100 days) during which you pay for care out of pocket before your insurance kicks in.

There is a genetic test for Alzheimer's risk that evaluates the apolipoprotein E or APOE gene, widely regarded in the medical community as the strongest and most common genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease. It provides context, but does not predict whether or not you will develop dementia. You can read more about genetic testing and other risk factors via this explanation on the APOE gene from the Mayo Clinic.

Your mother's experience has understandably rattled you. Seven years at $7,000 a month is roughly $588,000 before accounting for increases in the cost of care. Her insurance ultimately paid almost $600,000. The risk of developing Alzheimer's exists, but you need to balance that risk with the price for your peace of mind and the price you would pay in retirement by taking out long-term care insurance today.

You don't need a crystal ball. You just need old-fashioned planning.

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