How Can I Plan to Retire While Caring for My Partner with a Degenerative Illness?

A Reddit poster is trying to figure out how to manage retirement planning while considering the needs of a spouse with a degenerative illness. The poster is in his mid-50s and has a net worth of around $6.5 million. He has the opportunity to sell the company he owns to an employee for another $2 million and retire, which would leave him with a net worth in the $8.5 million range.

While this would normally be enough to retire with, even with his spending at around $250K per year,  there’s an added issue here. His partner is also in her mid-50s, but she has a degenerative illness similar to Parkinson’s or MS. He thinks that she will need to pay for either assisted living or in-home help, which would cost the couple another $200K a year.

He’s hopeful this won’t be necessary for another decade, but the time could come sooner if something goes wrong, like a fall. He doesn’t think his partner can get long-term care insurance at this point and believes he’d need around another $4 to $5 million saved to cover the costs of her care until she passes. 

So, what should the poster do?

Preparing for retirement and long-term care costs

Unfortunately, the sad reality is that long-term care costs are very expensive. It’s also important to note that many people will end up needing this kind of care, even if most don’t think about it or plan for it. In fact, around 7 in 10 individuals ages 65 and up are projected to need long-term care for at least some time during retirement.

This poster’s situation is different, though, because he knows the care is going to be needed and because it is likely to be necessary for a long time. This means it’s critical to come up with a plan before quitting work. The good news is, other Reddit users had some suggestions that could be helpful. For example:

• One user suggested looking into local care costs and options to get some actual hard numbers so the poster knows what he is looking at.
• Another advised talking to a financial planner who could help explore options, determine if retirement is feasible right now, and help the poster come up with a plan to fund care in the future. 
• A poster who also has a degenerative illness said she is keeping their family business as long as possible and hoping to train others to run it so it continues to bring in income that can help cover her costs.

Other suggestions included talking with their children about future care plans, saving for emergencies, and looking into options such as a reverse mortgage so the couple could access equity in their home to continue paying for care plans while still being able to live in their property. 

Medicaid planning is also worth considering, and involves working with an estate planning attorney to try to shield as many assets as possible while becoming eligible for Medicaid nursing home coverage. This has to be done at least five years before the time the nursing care is needed, though, so the poster would need to explore this option ASAP. 

Getting professional help is the way to go

Lots of the advice provided here was good advice, but ultimately, the best advice is to talk with a financial professional. Planning for retirement on your own is difficult enough, and when you have the added stress of someone who will need long-term care, you really need to get sound advice on shoring up your finances.

A fee-only financial advisor can look at the big picture, help you explore options you might now know about, like Medicaid planning, and work with you to ensure that your retirement is as secure as possible despite the large costs of long-term care that you’ll inevitably have to face.