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Written by: Nathan Graff, CFP | Northwest Financial Group
Long-term care (LTC) planning is one of the most essential, yet most frequently overlooked, components of a comprehensive financial plan. Many clients spend years refining retirement plans, investment allocations and legacy goals, yet neglect addressing how they would manage the cost of potential extended care later in life.
Nearly 70% of adults over age 65 will require some form of LTC, according to data from the Administration for Community Living.
When this risk goes unaddressed, even the most thoughtfully constructed financial plans can be exposed. The objective isn’t to predict exactly what will happen, but to ensure a plan is resilient - able to absorb disruption without forcing decisions that undermine the goals, priorities, and legacy a client has spent a lifetime building.
Why Planning Gets Delayed
Even when clients understand the potential financial impact, LTC is often postponed as it requires consideration of a life stage that feels uncomfortable. But delaying the conversation doesn’t reduce the likelihood of needing care. It only limits the choices available when planning becomes urgent. Without a strategy, clients may resort to reactive decisions that undermine years of planning and create stress for the entire family.
Many clients delay LTC planning with the belief they can self-fund LTC whenever the time comes. In some cases, that is true. However, the more strategic question is not simply whether care can be self-funded, but whether it should be. Even in situations where families can afford the out-of-pocket costs, paying for care entirely from personal assets often results in trade-offs that clients did not initially intend to make.
This is often the point where an insurance solution becomes part of the planning conversation. It can provide leverage and predictability, helping clients protect the plan’s most important priorities without having to over-allocate liquid assets “just in case.” Equally important, a plan does not need to cover 100% of future care costs to be effective. Many clients assume the solution has to be all or nothing, and that mindset can keep them from taking action. In reality, even partial coverage can reduce pressure on retirement assets, preserve flexibility and strengthen the overall plan.
Reframing the Risks
Clients often understand the value of LTC planning clearly when they’ve experienced it with a loved one. They’ve seen that LTC is rarely a short-term expense, and the financial and emotional impact can last for years.
One of my clients had to pay approximately $24,000 per month to care for their father. While they were able to sustain the cost, their reflection afterward was instructive: they wished they had planned earlier because they felt the expense had consumed the legacy they hoped to preserve.
That experience highlights an important truth: LTC planning isn’t only about the person who may need care. It’s also about protecting the family system around them and reducing the likelihood that caregiving costs reshape the entire financial future.
The most effective LTC conversations look at the risk in its entirety - not just the financial cost, but the emotional and logistical strain placed on families. While data and projections matter, clients are far more likely to act when the discussion reflects real-life experience and the consequences families face without a plan. Framed this way, planning becomes less about numbers and more about protection - giving advisors a natural opening to help clients create a strategy that brings clarity, preserves what matters most, and offers greater peace of mind for the entire family.
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