The Caregiving Plan You Didn’t Know You Needed: Protect Your Family, Your Freedom, and Your Money

0:00 The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are solely those of the hosts and their guests and not those of W FOURCY Radio. It's employees are affiliates. We make no recommendations or endorsements radio show programs, services, or products mentioned on air or on our web. No liability explicitor implies shall be extended to W FOURCY Radio or its employees are affiliates. Any questions or comments should be directed to those show hosts. Thank you for choosing W FOURCY Radio. Welcome to to Ask Good Questions Podcasts, broadcasting live every Wednesday, six pm Eastern Time on W four CY Radio at w four cy dot com. This week and every week, we will reach for a higher purpose in money and life, as well as a focus on health and wellment. Now, let's join your host, Anita bel Anderson, as together we start with Asking Good Questions.

1:01 Hello, and welcome to the Ask Good Questions podcast. And I hope that we are going to have a fantastic time today because we have a guest that we're going to talk about a very important topic today. I'm your host, Benita bell Anderson, and i'd like to invite my guest Raymond Levine, to the Proverbial podcast stage. Welcome Raymond. I think I got I think I got you good. Oh I'm sorry. Okay, I don't know if you can edit that. My screen went out, so my apologies.

1:47 Oh boy, okay, No, you're here. I'm Sena. We're all seeing you. So this is. He is actually in my neck of the woods. Normally I'm actually still in Hawaii for another couple of months, but he's actually in Washington State, which is where I'm from. And so let me tell you a little bit about Raymond. He turned out to be someone I met that is very passionate about long term care. Yes, long term. Care, and he wants to talk to people about caregiving plans that they really have. You know, they're just not this is not on their radar. It should be, you know, maybe an individual benefit or something that an employer should be providing. The challenge is, that Raymond says, is that long term care benefits are seldom understood, I agree, or advocated for by benefits or property casualty brokers, let alone financial advisors like me.

2:51 He thinks that those a lot. Of times it can be seen as a benefit, like for a middle class or middle income benefit and also that the affluent don't eat it because they have sufficient funds. Well, that's that's just not the case. And a lot of and a lot of a lot. Of times, so the illusion is that there's going to be adequate funds available. So today with Raymond, we are going. To break down the choices that families actually face. And we have both been through this. I have had several long term care scenarios in my own family. Raymond has as well. And the strategies we're going to really be talking to you about the strategies that help you keep dignity and control somewhat and that this episode is going to help you replace uncertainty with a practical plan. So that's my that's my uh, that's my story. I'm sticking to it. We're going to ask some good questions today, Raymond. So, Raymond, do you have anything you want to add to that?

3:59 Yes? Can we do a real of you to promote me before I talk to anyone, that I'll have you as my real spoke spokesperson. Sure you bet. We can talk about that later. Fair enough, you just show us this episode of the podcast. So, Raymond, so, like in a little description. For this podcast episode, we talked about a caregiving plan. Well what do you mean? What are the core parts that every family should should be aware of.

4:40 Well, let's start off with what is caregiving? And it's a term that people often are in but they don't know it. But what is caregiving? What does it mean? Well, when you're a parent, caregiving means you're taking care of your children. Sometimes to tell us of taking care of your spouse, but that's a different topic. But caregiving by definition of the insurance company is activities of daily living. What does that mean? Well, it means that somebody, you know, uh, something has happened where you need caregiving, because it's not the illness or the accident or the frailty that you need caregiving. By the insurance definition, it's activities of daily living.

5:31 So sort of getting into insurance terminology, but it really means that somebody needs to help another person with various activities meaning eating, bathing, addressing, transitioning. It may be a cognitive but like in uh the infomercial, but there's more, because caregiving isn't just doing something for somebody, Uh, it's there. There's more because there are three things that I In fact, actually I got another term today I was reading about it is that I've been saying that when you need caregiving.

6:15 There are two things that happen to a person. And it doesn't matter age. It doesn't matter how well educated you are, how much education you have, it doesn't matter about how affluent. There are three things that most people in most cultures want and need. One does people want attention, especially if you need careget You want somebody to pay attention to you. And if you don't believe me, go into a go into a restaurant and have and don't have anybody come to your table. You're gonna find you know, people will complain. It's all attention. I just thought i'd give a visual example. The other thing that I think happens with is nobody wants to feel invisible. And it's sort of attention too. You don't want to be invisible.

7:07 And the third part of this, you know, if you want to call it the stool, uh has to do with you don't people don't want to feel vulnerable. And I'll give you you know an example, Christopher Reeves. You know, the actor was vibrant, he was six or four, good looking, making money, making pictures falls off a horse, he's paralyzed. You think that Christopher Reeves felt vulnerable, Yes, he felt vulnerable. He had to have family and friends tell me and Robin Williams to call him. They were roommates in New York Julliard. Side story, but the point is that Robin Williams would call him to UH to motivate him and give him mental health. But here's somebody that you know, went from riding a horse falling off feeling vulnerable. So no matter how famous you are, how wealthy you are, if you are in a healthcare situation, you are vulnerable and nobody wants to feel like that. So what do I do is that I, you know, I don't get involved in caregiving, although I've had you know, caregiving situation.

8:28 In fact, actually the next couple of months, my wife is going to need knee surgery, so there's gonna be a lot of caregiving going on. But what I do and people say, well, he sells insurance, Well yeah, I mean I sell a specific kind of insurance. But why should anybody think about it? Because I provide the money, the money so that families can pay for caregiving services, so that the family doesn't have to be fully involved in the caregiving and all the responsiblity because there's a lot of other responsibility. People just think, as they said, caregiving is just doing stuff. Well, it's more than that, because you may have to take care of somebody's finances, administration, driving, making phone calls for prescriptions. If I'm going on and you want to stop asking another question because I could get.

9:27 Well, you know what I want to ask you. I mean, that's a great that's a great example. What do you think do you feel like there's like hope and prey assumptions that you hear from families about long term care that are like not wanting to address it, and they're just like, oh, I hope that we can. What do you hear people say when they're like given excuses about not dealing with this. Well, it's like the person going to the library that wants to find out about the Nile River and uh the librarian gets a stack of books and the uh uh the student says, I don't need that much information, but uh uh. For a lot of people, they're in denial, and denial is oh, you know, I'll hope you know something.

10:15 You know, it'll it'll all work out. Well, I'll die fast, I'll do all you know, all these you know for and hope is not a strategy and it's not a Hope is not a solution. It's just you hope that and in reality it uh uh, you know, it's nice to have hope. It's nice to say, oh, I did all these wonderful things, you know, being a caregiver. But the uh uh, there's a lot of emotion in it. Uh, there's a lot of expense and there's a lot of you know, uh, you know, people also think about it. When we think of caregiving, you almost think of the person that needs the caregiving and we often forget the people that are involved in caregiving. There's a lot of drama, there's a lot of expense, and there's a lot of mental health and physical health for the caregiver. And if you don't have the resources to uh then your responsibility and it can it can be devastating for those that need caregiving and those that will be caregivers. That's why I'm an advocate or if you really, if we can stay on the podcast, that's why I'm a pain in the ass about this is that uh, it's really it's it's you know, it's as up close and personal as you're ever going to get. And I'll say, I'll keep this family. It's as close and personal as intimacy or child or childbirth or you know how it couldn't get more.

11:46 It couldn't get more personal. I remember when I was car. And don't ate it. I hope, well it is, it is, But I was just thinking. I'm remembering with my own sister, who she's been gone now for about six years, but I remember the day one day that when I was caring for her and she was she looked at me and shook her head and said, I never thought it. Would be like this. That's right. You know, it was just sad. It was just sad, and it was just hard on all of us. But well, talk to me about you know, your own family. I think you had some caregiving with your parents. So what was the moment when you realize that that that you know, this planning can change everything.

12:37 Well, my parents were lawyers, and you know, they were knowledgeable people about a lot of things, but they weren't insurance fires other than what they needed to buy, they were you know, they didn't When I say that, I mean, it's not like they bought, you know, a lot of extra insurance for things, because the usual term is I don't want to be insurance poor, and that's as reasonable. You don't want to buy more of different things because somebody scares you into it. You know, these meet like cancer insurance or you know, there are a lot of you know, specific things that you can buy. But it's like by you know saying, uh, uh you buy a refrigerator, do you get a do you get a warranty? The point that I'm making on this is that the best investment that you can make is to invest in yourself.

13:31 And uh with my parents, they didn't do that until they were uh un till it was towards the end. And what I mean by that is my father three times in his life. Actually my mother died at one hundred and three and uh and I'll get back. She needed launch she bought a long term care plan and they did and they and they try to buy it in uh their seventies. After my father had his third along you know, and this that this was the final illnes this and took him about two and a half three years to die. But at that point, through the bar association, they got offered you know, long term care benefits. And I think that by then my parents got the plot.

14:12 Meaning two times before he had been in a car accident and he broke it. He heard his back severely and he was out for months. And then the second time he fell off a horse and broke his hip in his arm and he was out for a year and a half. And my mother had a thriving estate planning practice, and she each time they didn't hire, you know, caregivers. She she was the caregiver, so you know, she spent time away from her practice, and. You know, and wouldn't you think that they would do of all people? Right, Well, you don't ask your parents that. It's just you know, it's like, you know, it's like they'll say it a vice versa, but you usually don't say it back to your parents, like, you know, well why didn't you Why why didn't you do that? But a side story, one of the things even I believed until you know, in the last maybe twenty years, is that most people think of caregiving as nursing home insurance or assisted living.

15:16 And most people that you know, why do I want to buy a nursing home policy? I don't want to be in a nursing home. But the fact is that caregiving plans, long term care giving plans have evolved a lot. There have been problems with it over time with premium increases. We can go into that if you want to later, but long term care plans are comprehensive. Now. You can either you buy it and you can either be at home, which is what most people want. But it may be that you need to go to a care center called nursing home assisted living. Why, Well, depends on you know where you live, how you live, Uh do you have?

16:02 You know what kind of care do you need? And sometimes it might be uh, you know a a there is a good reason to be in a care center. Now, I will never go to a care center because I'm in and I can't and be honest with you, I can never be in a homeowners association because I'll get expelled. I just have that. I have that. I just I have I have that. I have that personality. So so if I'm going to need caregiving, I'm going to have to be at home because no care center, no care center take me. And it's not because not a pleasant person. I just have a personality. But anyway, the point is with my parents, she got my mother, uh was able to get long term care benefits and my father couldn't because he had pre a pre existing condition. My mother used it for eighteen years. And as I tell this, I think I told you when we spoke before or is that my mother was very affluent and she made you know, several million a year. So I asked my mother, watch you buy making this money, because this is the thing of well, I'll self fund, I'll self ensure, and my mother, uh being again a state planning attorney said, nobody has that much money. Nobody has that much money to pay for their lifestyle and their care services. Because my mother is sort of the classic case of you know, she started off, you know with maybe ten to twenty

17:35 hours a week of a caregiver, and eventually it became twenty four hours a day, two or three shifts, seven days a week. And so I tell people, you know, do you really want to spend you know, it used to be, you know, you pay somebody fifteen twenty dollars an hour. It's now you know, maybe thirty forty five dollars an hour. So if you do it fifty dollars an hour times twenty four times seven times thirty times twelve. Do the arithmetic. It's expensive. Yeah, well, let's dial this back. I think there's a lot of misconceptions around Medicare because you know, most people past sixty five are going to have some form of Medicare. What does it typically cover and what what can you help people understand that it doesn't cover when it comes to extended care.

18:32 Medicare is health insurance and this is also where people don't either don't know or as John Kenny said, they don't want to know, or they don't understand. And I'm not saying that to be condescending or dismissive because when I was looking at Medicare for myself, it's astonishing. It took me a while and a lot of YouTube things that understand about you know Medicare and also you know a Medicare supplement and a Medicare advantage plan and what the difference is. And it may seem simple, but it's not as simple. You know, you really have to understand. I understand it, but uh, and spend time internalizing it.

19:14 Medicare is a health insurance plan for seniors, and it goes back to when when Harry Truman in nineteen forty eight suggested medicare, it didn't happen till nineteen sixty five. It is health insurance and it's not socialized medicine. It's actually an entitlement program. It is for people sixty five and older to have health care insurance which pays for your doctor and a pays for your hospital. Then you buy the supplemental plan to pay for what Medicare doesn't pay in services. Now, Medicare, if you need caregiving services because of surgery or some sort of after uh uh, surgery or rehabilitation, Medicare will pay a certain amount you know, uh, four caregivers to come in for yeah. Uh, but only for so long. It's it's it's how about if I say that it's it's recovery. Uh Uh, it's recovery benefits short term. Now that's Medicare. Uh and and and it will uh and it will also pay for hospice. Uh.

20:35 You know, when you're actively dying, and you know, the idea is, you know you're actively dying with this six months, Medicare will pay for hospice. And many people have had very good If you can say that very good experiences, you know, with hospice kids, that's sort of a cognitive dissonance of Hi, you. Know, I really exact. But what but long term care benefits was designed to pay for the longer term when all the other social services aren't available that you had money to pay for.

21:17 And again it was you know, start with nursing home insurance. But now it's you know, comprehensive, and you know, look in forty years, you know there's a lot unlike life insurance, there's a lot that the insurance companies have learned about long term care betefits. They've made some serious mistakes with the plan and the what I regret and what happens is that people's memory or the way people write about it. A lot of times will write negatively like it was such a good plan, but now there have been premium increases and there have been benefit changes and then so it's awful. Well, real estate market has had problems, But I don't know people not saying I never want to buy a home, I never want a home in the real estate or.

22:05 Will have you? I mean, you've seen that, You've seen the studies like I'm sure I have where they tell you and it's very scary. But how likely is it that someone's going to need this long term care? And what ages do you most often see it starting? What do you think? What most people think is that you're going to need it in your sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties, and there is when you're old, you know, when you're perceived as old, that then you'll need the caregiving benefits. It's likely, however, people in there, you know, at any age for an accident, an accident, an illness and diabetes, stroke, heart attack, cognitive issues that can be you know, early uh early age demandsia. I don't want to just say Alzheimer's because uh, you know, but you can, but you could, but you can have a cognitive Here's another thing that people think. There are a lot of people have neurological diseases MS or other uh uh neurological diseases. People can get severe arthritis, So there are a lot of healthcare issues or something in the d n A that that you may need caregiving services at a much younger age.

23:36 Now here's the other thing, uh is that people are people are you know, Americans are living longer. If you look at the statistics you know, the girls live longer. I'm not sure if that's really going to happen, you know, for all, if the boys will catch up or the girls will uh uh, you know, not not not live as long. But the assumption is that women live or the girls live longer than the men. So therefore, you know, let's calculate. But however, people are living longer, that doesn't mean they're living with greater better health.

24:17 Right right, Yeah, I definitely want to have to have better health. Part I do too. And however, if you even if you need caregiving, even if you're not healthy, you know, I want to give you know, some positive things about this is that just because you're not healthy and you will have a caregiving plan whatever it means. You have a reverse mortgage, you sell your life insurance, you get money, uh you know, you take money out of your however you do it. My concern is you can still have a good life. You really can, and I mean I've seen this personally. You can still have you know, a a a life where you're not in visi you don't worry about attention, and you don't don't feel as vulnerable.

25:04 You can go out and do things and I see this every day when I go out. You know, I see people canes, walkers, wheelchairs. Uh uh uh uh they have the oxygen of things. What are recent living in Washington State? Uh? Somehow old older people? You have caught up where I just you know, I see I see all these people. Of course, being in this business, I become more observant. I've become I've become more aware. And you know, in that sense, I'm really gratified that you know, I'm in the business I'm in. I'm in because it's it's given me. Uh you know, it's helped me to understand not only in myself and my family, but what other you know, to observe how what other people are going through. So it's made me. It's made me, I think a better person and more empathetic.

25:56 Well what do you think? Uh? We kind of mentioned this at the beginning about affluent people, and I think you know, affluent families can get blindsighted. What's the illusion around will just pay out a pocket taxes? Meaning and I made you think i'd be if you have to use your and there's there's not nothing in the I R. S Code that I'm aware that if you need if you're using the your your your income or your assets to pay for caregiving. There's no tax benefit. There's no tax Uh, there's no tax incentive. So what you're putting in there's you're you're paying a double expense actually, or an added expense. When is your lifestyle? You know, the utility bills don't stop because you have or the ability say, oh you have your CAREGT. Oh you know, well you don't. You don't have to pay utilities. You don't have to pay your property taxes, you do exactly, so, so the expenses continue. However, now you're adding an expense, not an asset, but an expense of if your spouse is actively working or retard whatever the situation may be.

27:14 That it's you know, is your is your spouse if you have one, are they be able to help you? If you have children, you really want your children to give up their careers and families are suspended? Uh? And they and they will. But there's an there's an expense. So you're going from whatever income you're making and add thirty forty fifty percent to that. Can you handle the lifestyle and the extra expense even even even even if even even if you whether you say I have several million in assets, it's what are the assets producing and caregiving expenses? If you think, you know, whatever you're feeling are about. Inflation is an inflation in caregiving is a lot higher than everything else. It's going up incrementally. Caregiving is expensive.

28:14 Well, I am working with a long term, a long time client, someone that has been with me for a very long time. And she's a retired pharmacist. She has just put her husband into memory care. So and this is you know, this is going to cost her about ten thousand a month, and all of her other expenses are still continuing. And it's sad, and it's emotional, and you know, all the things with you know, losing your partner. It's I don't know. I mean, what do you think most shocked families the most once care is needed? What do you think.

28:57 Everything everything your life when you need when there's an illness or accident or everything changes, you know, I mean, it's it's you know, use the metaphor, you know it's a light switch. You know your life will change. You know when I had my I've had two heart attacks. I guarantee you there was a like it affected my life, you know, instantaneously in court and court and of course my fa my family because if you're not prepared, and many people aren't, then a lot of things, there are a lot of things that you're going to have to do in your life that if you're not prepared, are uh, it's it's it's not only stress for those that have whatever issue they have, but for the family, because there are things you got to find out. You know, uh, what prescriptions are you taking? What's your Social Security number?

29:54 What's your what your uh? Uh? Do you have your health card? You know? Uh? Uh? What powers of attorney? What passwords? You know? The uh? Who's your doctor? You know? Does your family know? You know who your doctors are? Uh? Do you know the phone numbers? You know? Uh? Uh uh? There are so many you know things besides oh somebody is isn't well? Is that it's information? They're all going to ask for information, and I guarantee you they're all going to say do you have insurance? Every you know, they're all going to say you have you haven't have insurance? Or you know, uh or how's your credit card balance?

30:35 Yeah, well, let's talk about let's talk about the kids for a minute. Here. What happens to an adult child's finances when there's no plan and I'm thinking about retirement and college funding and their career and their marriage. You know. Let you know, what are your thoughts about those adult children that get involved in this? Any study that you will find and you can you know, find your own study. They all say the same thing because I, you know, I read about this stuff all the you know, every day, or I is it if children are involved? Fact, I mean there's been you know, movies that have been done about this and television shows.

31:19 You know, it is traumatized, but you know, it tells the story of you know, it's devastating to everyone because if you have to take care of them, you know, do you live across the street west? You know, families you know one hundred years ago, you know they were families, they lived in the same community twenty twenty six. Is things are different. People don't always live in the in the same area. A lot of times they don't even live in the same state for various reasons. And of course also depends on marital status. You know, some people are you know, on two or three families. So the point is that, uh, if your children don't live uh nearby, you know, Uh if they have to drive, I don't notice the gas station saying oh, you're going to see your parents for caregiving? Oh you know it's free. You know, Uh, there's gonna be uh. Or if you have to fly, you know, you might say, oh, I have a hardship.

32:24 Maybe maybe maybe maybe they'll give you, uh some sort of discount. But the point is that if a child has to go and visit the parent, then and there's expense. But but but there's more is that you're coming into a situation of uh, you don't know how long if you're not aware of you know what the situation. Uh have they been paying their bills? How have they been eating? What's the condition of you know with you know, whether whether living are the uh uh you know the parents been bay and they've been eating, you know, and you can open up the refrigerator, you know if it has expiration twenty twenty, you know you're in serious trouble. But here's the thing that you know that people will call me and say, can you help me? I don't know.

33:14 I don't know where their financial papers are. I don't know where their health insurance. I mean, they don't they don't know where their documents are. Yeah, yeah, it's crazy. Well let's let's get into some action things. I always like to have people, you know, have something that they can take away. If a listener wants to like. Quote unquote own a caregiving plan or start going down this road, what are the first three steps did you'd have them take this month? There are there are there, There are a number of things if you have I mean, if you want to talk, you talk to somebody like me. You know I'm going to I'll be authentic. U. The first thing I'm going to ask you if they want to think and know about getting a caregiving plan, The first question I ask is what do you want your caregiving plan to do?

34:05 Not Oh we have this plan and this plan this time, we can do this and this is I want to find find out what are the important about caregiving? What do you want your caregiving plan uh to do? With the three things that I say is that, uh, where do you want your caregiving? If you needed caregiving? Just like where do you want your caregiving? Most people say, well, I want it at home, you know. Uh. The family might say, well, you know, who wanted to go to a care center? The second thing is I asked, who do you want to be responsible for your caregiving? You know who's out there? You know, you like your kids, they like you. Are you going to uh or family or friends? Who is capable of doing caregiving for you?

34:45 Because you know, they've got to think about it. I think, you know. Here's the other thing is people have to visualize. I mean really, it isn't just telling people. You really got to visualize, you know, do you really you know this is what your kids You're going to ask your kids to do? Do you really is that what you really want? You know? Do you want them to really bathe you? You know, can they lift you? You know? Do you really want them to look something? They may have to do your finance? You want to see the finances. And the third question that I that I asked us, how are you going to pay for it? What? You know, what what resources do you have? And people will you know, say, well, you know I can, I can pay for a year on my own, And I'll say, well, so you know you're okay with spending six thousand a month? Seven thousand?

35:34 Oh yeah, so well what happens if it goes. How about ten? That client I just talked about is going to be one thousand a month? And it may be you know that is later on. Again, it depends on the situation. Sometimes it's incremental. Sometimes it's the wham bam, meaning you know, yeah you need this and this is this and this is what it cost. But you see, there's the other thing is what is ten thousand dollars? What's what's it going to get you? Is it going to really get you? A? Well? Here here here. Let me say it this way. When I ask people, you know, how much attention do you want if you need a caregiving and I'll say, you know, the question will asks us, you know what the ratio is for attention if you're at home versus if you're in a care center, and theresa, I don't know. So if you're at home, the attention if you have something is at least one to one good ratio. You might have two or three or four to one even better ratio.

36:32 Now if you're in a care center, depending on you know, do you have a really fancy schmancy one or do you have you know, sort of the you know, the regular care center. So it might be the attention is prompt or it might be you know, one to fifteen, one to twenty, and if they're all needy, they all need, you know, need attention. Do you really think you're going to get that attention? Fat? So? So what does ten thousand mean? Uh, it depends, I would just tell you personally, it depends on what attention you need. And obviously you know, here's the other thing. And I'm saying, you know quickly, maybe you know more information, But it depends also on what things you know. If you if you're you know, the needing the character, how much attention do you need.

37:24 Maybe there's something a lot of things you can do yourself, but as time goes on that you need more attention. There are more and more things that need to be done. And so therefore it's either if you're at home there are more things that people need to do, or you need to bring in people because you need you know, if you need oxygen or if you're getting prescriptions and stuff or therapy. Maybe you know, you can hire people to come in, or you can take something one way or another. You have to have somebody else, you know, help, uh help you well. Raymond, you know I'm wondering about you know, there might be guess. And there might be some some out there that are saying, but I can't qualify medically, or they can't or they can't afford traditional long term care insurance.

38:17 What alternatives are you going to say? What would you someone's telling you that, what would you say? What alternatives are there? Okay, some of the some of the basic reverse mortgage, and I'm not a poster. You know, if you want, if you want a home and you have assets, you know, uh, you know, a reverse mortgage might be a good idea. What I would also say is that if you want to keep buy and if you can't, buy a life insurance policy so that it will pay off the reverse mortgage. So if you want to leave your home as a legacy, buy a life insurance policy. Obviously, you know most people say, well they'll buy a term, a term policy or depending what it is, you know, a cash value. So reverse mortgage, you know, might be a better bit. If you own life insurance, life insurance is uh uh, if it's convertible or if your own cash value, uh, then ask me, I'll get you a life sell sell your life insurance.

39:14 In fact, let me also just say, if you own life insurance and don't let it lapse, and don't try sell it. Sell it to a life settlement and get and and and get cash. So don't sell your life insurance and don't let it lapse because I'll let it lapse or I'll just turn it in sell it if you can another another way you could. Another thing if you have no asset is medicaid. Now you might be eligible. You know, here's the thing. People think that they're entitled. You're not. You're eligible, but you're not entitled because you have to have qualifications. So uh uh, I'm uh. I might feel I'm entitled to things. The reality is you know that you're eligible and you have to be uh and just be. And if you want to do it before and you want to transfer assets, you know, I say to people, I'll have to let medicaid, but I'll transfer my assets. Said fine, then talk to another care attorney.

40:11 Pay fifteen thousand or whatever, because they're going to charge for the services. You really want to you know, you really want to transfer your asset all right, then medicaid or transfer transfer the asset. Now. Here's if you have an annuity or if you have assets not really needed for retirement benefits. Even if you have pretty lousy health or almost no health, I can still get you a plan. You transfer the assets to an annuity that has long term care provision to it. Now here's the thing that people say, well, I supposedly you know if you at least it needs at least one hundred thousand, I'll go through this quick one hundred thousand. Then it will leverage.

40:55 It might be two or three, so the one hundred thousand really becomes two or three hundred thousand. And then some we will say, well, if I put it in there, I'll lose my money. It'll go to money heaven. No, it won't. I mean it might if you if you use it enough. But if you if you don't use all the benefits, then the the assets that are left in the annuity, UH will go tax free to a beneficiary. So you're either using it or beneficiary, but you're not. But you're really not losing it. It's not and it's not fraud and it's not a scam. I mean it's it's it's a real thing. I agree with you on this, Raymond. Where can you believe we're almost out of time? I always I'm just like I always this always goes so fast, so we need to close. I want to have some clarity around how people can move forward.

41:48 So if someone listening today is. Doing nothing, but we've convinced them to get going on this, what's the single most important action they could take in the next seven days to reduce this risk and maybe. Hopefully regain some peace of mind. What would be the single best thing they could do. The best thing they can do, obviously, you know, is talk to a person that's involved with long term care benefits. However, you know, the reality is, if you have a financial planner, if you have a wealth advisor, if you have a family and friends that you know you like, ask them, you know, what's your caregiving plan or what what? What? What?

42:35 What have you done about it? Or what do you what do you know about it? And who would you recommend? So ask wealth advisor, h financial planners, accountants, people, elder care attorneys, uh, you know, ask them, you know do they advocate you know caregiving planning? And and what do what do they advise? So talk to the people that you know and trust. What are they thinking about it? What do they advocate advocate? And who should who should they be talking to? Right So with that, I think we've asked some good questions. I think that we've talked about some important things that people could take action on. Do you have any final thoughts for us today, Raymond?

43:22 Well, the only other thought I have, and we've talked about a lot of really you know, really ask some really great questions and really products sometimes of any things to me that I think about but I don't always say, is that I would also encourage people to ask their employer, do you, you know, as part of an employee benefit, do you have a long term care plan? And if and if and if they don't say chie, it would be a good idea, you know, uh for the employer to uh uh talk to a benefits consultant or me about installing a long term care benefit plan. And one of the questions they could ask, you know, have have people in the company and people will know, you know, who's in the caregiving situation, who's let had to leave the company or going sabbatical or giving up a job as slements or promotion, So ask you do they have a long term care benefit? Because I'll say this very quick.

44:19 Younger people are not really is motivated and really don't know about long term care plans. However, if a company does and they own a plan, and let's say even if it's a fifty starts a fifteen hundred or two thousand a month and you know, cost them, you know, thirty five forty dollars or fifty dollars a month at most, if they kept that plan for fifty years, if they assuming that you know, they don't need it till their seventies or eighties, and they're paying, and they'll pay the same premium and they have a cost of living, you know what a great investment. They probably never have to buy another plan on top of it. It's like a retire it's a good it is a really good investment for something that you might if you keep it, because you know, look, assuming your income grows, what's what's you know, uh uh uh, that's coffee money or beer money for and uh so as time goes on, you can still buy beer, you can still buy coffee. You can still keep your long term care plan. Because let me just all say, one of the differences is if you own a long term care plan from your company, it's portable, you can take it with you.

45:32 Yeah, well, Raymond, with that, we need to close up shop today. So thank you so much for joining me, Thank you so much for being on the Ask Good Questions podcast, and thank you to all of you that are listening in and we so hope that you will take advantage of this. There will be information on my website about Raymond if you would like to contact him. And so with that, thank you, thank you for joining us on the Ask Good Questions Podcast. We will see you next time. Today's episode is over, but we did ask Good Questions again, didn't We don't miss out as we broadcast live every Wednesday, six pm Eastern Time on W four CY Radio at w fourcy dot com. Joined Benina Bellmerson next week for more conversations with experts on finances, retirement, behavioral finance issues, health and wellness and more. Until then, remember to ask good questions.