"But since only ~7% need max benefits, the expected max payout is 7% * $200k = $14,000. "
What??
7% refers to the % of PEOPLE who theoretically , will actually need LTC. NOT the payout of a individual LTC .
IF those 7% HAVE a LTC policy, they will get the full benefit of the LTC policy.
Of course, that is what the word, âexpectedâ, means. (Its a simple probability problem for a prospective buyer.)
â@Twoin18 â I think you would have trouble finding a way to spend $1000/day. I hired in-home help for 24 hours/day during my motherâs last weeks of life. When you added the employer cost of FICA & workersâ comp, the hourly rate of $27 was $648/day. This is in the NY metro area. Assisted Living would cost far lessâperhaps $8K/month and nursing home care maybe $14K.â
@CT1417 Iâm talking about claiming in 25-30 years time. Inflation will easily increase todayâs costs by 3-4 times. The guaranteed annual increase in benefit is a huge factor in determining the expected ROI for an LTC policy.
@Twoin18 âAh, that makes sense. The costs I quoted you were current as of a year ago, so yes, I agree that costs will increase significantly. My parentsâ plan had a 5% inflation rider. Daily benefit limit increased from $150 to just shy of $450. Compounding is magic!
MS, Parkinsonâs, Alzheimerâs/other Dementias. Some cases are such that they need to be in a facility. My mom was calm Alzheimerâs and had a strong desire to stay in her own home, so she was very docile and compliant as she was happy in her home. When we applied for LTC insurance for her, brother (who lives local to mom) decided to apply for the lower cost policy - which IMHO was a mistake - if you apply for one and get turned down, the industry pretty much turns you down for other companyâs policies. She was turned down. However brother was one to help preserve the estate by having mom happy at home and with the right care coming in (and she had a live in housekeeper/cook).
Great meeting last night with our financial planner (my friend for more than 40 years). Things are looking very good and we are on track to retire in the next 5 years with our investments slated to be at the level we are comfortable with when calling it quits. If something happened to either of our jobs and we decided to retire at that time we have cushion built in for that too.
Interesting calculation - would work if one plans to live off capital gains for a while. Bet the author got a pretty penny from Marketwatch to republish his blog post. 
Much of the FIRE community pays no federal income tax. Itâs really not that hard to manage. Of course, lots of taxes were paid during the years accumulating the wealth to retire.
I retired at the age of 44.
While I really enjoyed my career, there is no comparison to the joys of retirement.
For those that have retired, you probably have fond memories of the walk out, the first meal, the party(ies), the days after.
I remember those elated feelings. I couldnât stop smiling for days.
I canât imagine retiring. Maybe because I work on a part-time basis. Iâve done so for over 25 years. Somewhere between 15 and 30 hours a week depending on whatâs going on. I get all the nice stress free/ sleep late- , have lunches and errands while most are working days but also the intellectual and social satisfactions of working. My situation is just too good to be bettered by stopping working at all.
One can get intellectual and social satisfactions without a paying job. 
âOne can get intellectual and social satisfactions without a paying jobâ - Absolutely true But it comes effortlessly when you continue at a good-fit job.
Most of use will be fine either way, but I have seen cases where retirees who had commuted to a job need to make special efforts to ramp up new connections locally.
I actually had our retirement people run my retirement numbers âofficiallyâ for the first time. That has made retirement seem closer for some reason.
Multiple financial planners tell us we look good for retirement. We are now going through the numbers as part of a âfreeâ work-up with a financial guy who did a seminar where I work. I have been tracking my spending this year, and will track it for some part of next year, but all signals indicate I can retire whenever I want. Iâm pretty sure I will be retired within the next 16 months, and possibly by the end of next year. (Note - I can change my mind up until my last day, and if I have too many bad days before then, I may go earlier).
I need to start figuring out what the next chapter will look like.
^Your next chapter will be great, filled with fun, I assure you
ââŠif I have too many bad days before then, I may go earlierâ - Thatâs great. Itâs a good feeling when you can walk if needed.
âone bad meeting away from retirementâ is how DH puts it. Which oddly makes meetings more tolerable.
I walked away from a ridiculously stressful job in early September, and I have truly enjoyed not working. I have been able to deal with some important family issues, and my stress level is no longer at 10. I would like to go back to work sometime in the relatively near future, but the awesome thing is, if I donât, we will be fine. Itâs a good feeling.
We plan to retire at 65. My spouse is 5 years older than I am, and works a much more physically demanding job than I do. He plans to leave his current job at 60 (heâs 52 now) and do something part-time for 5 years.
We both have satisfying careers that are a good fit for our interests and abilities, so neither of us are in any rush to end this chapter.
Not sure what our retired life will entail. Hopefully, lots of travel. Our home is in a very hot summer rental market (8 blocks in from the beach), so I have a fantasy about renting it out for for three months each year (the price we could command would nearly cover our yearâs worth of mortgage and taxes payments) and spending the time traveling. Fun to think about, anyway. 
@DeeCee36 - That rent & travel plan sounds fun someday. When ready, I bet you can find some trial renters / reviewers here.
ShawWife and I have found a home on a magnificent lot. We made an offer that was accepted and we are awaiting the home inspection report. On a river, surrounded by a farm on one side zone for ag/conservation land and conservation land on the other. Conservation land used for agriculture far across the river. So, no development near us but it is just at the end of a road with a number of houses. Spectacular views. the house is so-so â much larger than we need. We can so imagine getting up in the morning and drinking our coffee while overlooking the river. It would take significant renovations to make it something ShawWife would like â conversion of one room into a big DR so we could entertain (it has a strangely shaped kitchen with 48" Viking stove, big Sub-Zero, wine refrigerator, Bosch dishwasher, etc. so we might have to reconfigure a bit). Conversion of a 3.5 bay garage into a studio.
ShawWife has wanted a house where kids and grandkids (just twinkles in our eyes at the moment) would come. This has many extra bedrooms and bathrooms (the family had six daughters) and a saltwater pool in addition to kayaking right off the property. Could be a kid magnet for the summer. This would be that kind of house.
The real question is whether it is economic given the renovation cost. We are buying it at $300K below assessed value (usually assessments are lower than actual value). But, could take $500K to $900K in repairs. Our favorite architect thinks we can get a lot done for $500K but other friends are concerned that the budget is low.
If it were $900K, I donât know if we should do it. Hard to figure out how to think about this. For a couple of reasons, this might dissuade us from spending more time in Bay Area in the winter (to avoid cold and be near kids).
Any thoughts?