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Your Guide to Long-Term Care

In this special report, find out how to weigh your prospective coverage needs and your options for paying for them.

There are many reasons why people put off developing a plan for long-term care. Perhaps they don't expect to need such care. Or they assume government programs will cover some or all of their long-term-care costs. Or they just don't want to think about what is, no doubt, one of the more somber parts of retirement planning.

But ignoring the subject can be costly.

"An extended long-term-care stay can be catastrophically expensive, adding an extreme wild card to retirement plans without long-term-care insurance," notes Morningstar's director of personal finance and retirement planning Christine Benz.

Indeed, you may be more likely to require some long-term care than you think: About half of people turning 65 will require some long-term care during their lives. And while government programs can cover some types of care, they don't cover all types--and there are income limits and other strictures around eligibility.

It's therefore wise to weave a long-term-care plan into your broader retirement plan. Use the articles and videos in this guide to help you weigh your prospective coverage needs and your options for paying for them.

An Action Plan for Long-Term Care Many people put off creating a long-term-care plan. This step-by-step guide can help you get over inertia, dread, or both.

Watch: Crafting a Plan for Long-Term Care Tackling this topic is tricky but necessary.

The Language of Long-Term Care Navigating the care maze can be overwhelming; understanding the lingo can help.

100 Must-Know Statistics About Long-Term Care: Pandemic Edition Who receives care, who provides it, the economic cost, and the devastating effects of COVID-19.

Watch: Paying for Long-Term Care Many people have chosen to fund their own long-term care rather than relying on insurance. Financial advisor Carolyn McClanahan talks to Christine Benz about this trend.

There's No Magic Number for Self-Funding Long-Term Care A single asset threshold seems appealing, but it may provide a false sense of security.

Could Your Long-Term-Care Premiums Be Hiding in Plain Sight? If you have a permanent life insurance policy or annuity, you may be able to trade it for long-term-care coverage.

The Best Place to Save for Long-Term-Care Expenses Counterintuitively, vehicles offering tax-free withdrawals aren't always the best for long-term-care savings.

Watch: Long-Term Care in a Post-Pandemic World Financial advisor Carolyn McClanahan talks about the implications of the pandemic for long-term care.

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