Only 17% of people aged 60 or more participating in a recent survey said they feel confident about their plans for long-term care.
By contrast, 55% of respondents aged 40 to 49 said they are confident in their current plans.
“Leading Tomorrow: 2024 Long-Term Care Consumer Study” was commissioned by OneAmerica Financial and conducted by Hanover Research. The survey was administered online in May to 1,000 people at least 40 years old. Respondents were split fairly evenly among age groups (40 to 49, 50 to 59, 60 or more), geographical regions (Midwest, Northeast, South, West) and genders.
Overall, 74% of participants said they think they are likely to need long-term care in the future, but only 33% of respondents said they are confident in their long-term care plans.
Thirty-one percent of participants said that if they were sick unexpectedly, they would expect to receive care in an assisted living community. In comparison, other respondents said they would expect to receive care at home (53%), in an adult child’s home (5%), in the home of another family member (4%) or in the home of a friend (1%). Seven percent of participants said they weren’t sure where they would receive care.
When asked who they expect to care for them if they become sick unexpectedly, 54% of respondents said a care facility. In comparison, participants also said they would be cared for by themselves (37%), by a partner (37%), a home health aide (35%), other family members (28%), children (27%) or friends (10%). Six percent said they were not sure who would care for them.
Overall, respondents said they expect to use personal savings (51%), long-term care insurance (46%), Medicare (45%) and health insurance (44%) if they need long-term care. The study found that having a family member who needed long-term care was a significant catalyst for creating a long-term care plan (88%) and buying long-term care protection (75%).
“What’s clear from this research is that consumers need help when it comes to long-term care planning,” said Jeff Levin, vice president of care solutions for OneAmerica Financial.
