March 24, 2026

Episode 221: What Actually Counts as Long-Term Care?

30 minutes

In this episode of Retire With Style, Wade Pfau and Alex Murguia introduce the fundamentals of long-term care planning as part of their ongoing walkthrough of the Retirement Planning Guidebook. They clarify what long-term care actually is, how it differs from traditional healthcare, and why it represents one of the largest and most unpredictable financial risks in retirement. The conversation explores how long-term care is defined, the likelihood of needing care, early warning signs to watch for, and the full continuum of care options from informal caregiving to nursing homes. They also outline the four primary ways to fund long-term care and discuss how retirees can begin thinking about planning for this potentially significant expense.

Takeaways

Long-term care is generally defined as needing help with at least two activities of daily living for more than 100 days.

Medicare does not cover long-term care, making it a critical planning gap for many retirees.

Long-term care is one of the largest and most unpredictable retirement expenses, potentially exceeding $1 million in extreme cases.

While many people will need care, much of it initially comes from unpaid caregivers like family members.

Early warning signs often show up in managing finances, driving, or household tasks before basic daily living needs decline.

Care exists on a spectrum, from in-home support to assisted living and nursing homes.

There are four main ways to fund care: self-funding, Medicaid, traditional insurance, and hybrid insurance solutions.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Long-Term Care

01:38 Understanding Long-Term Care

06:08 Statistics on Long-Term Care Needs

11:39 Planning for Long-Term Care

12:49 Options for Long-Term Care

19:27 Funding Long-Term Care

24:44 Medicare vs. Medicaid for Long-Term Care

Links

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Wade Pfau’s must-read Retirement Planning Guidebook just got even better. The 3rd Edition is now available and packed with the latest updates to help you design your retirement strategy with confidence. Grab your copy on Amazon or your favorite book retailer: https://books2read.com/Retirement

This episode is sponsored by McLean Asset Management. Visit https://www.mcleanam.com/retirement-income-planning-llm/ to download McLean’s free eBook, “Retirement Income Planning”

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By Wade Pfau & Alex Murguia

3.9

170170 ratings