Key Private Bank, the wealth management arm of KeyCorp, released the results of its latest advisor poll, which surveyed nearly 150 of its client-facing advisors about their experiences working with HNW individuals on long-term care planning.
The survey explored when individuals should start planning for long-term care; clients' long-term care preferences and whether those desires are being communicated to family members; and strategies advisors are using to coach individuals through the complexities of long-term care planning.
Six in ten (58%) advisors say fewer than a quarter of their clients have a long-term care plan in place, the poll revealed.
In fact, convincing clients to put a long-term care plan in place is the biggest long-term care challenge, cited by over half of advisors (52%), followed by helping clients increase savings for long-term care costs without substantially impacting other financial goals (e.g., retirement, children's education, etc.) (44%), and forecasting caregiving needs and addressing coordination of care (38%).
Communicating Long-term Care Wishes
When asked about long-term care preferences, the vast majority of advisors (96%) say their clients' first choice is to stay at home and remain completely independent.
However, moving into an assisted living facility is a close second, according to 93% of advisors.
The least appealing options are receiving help from family members or personal aids (11%) and moving into a nursing home (1%).
Despite these strong long-term care preferences, most advisors say clients are not communicating enough with children and family members about their wishes and future plans.
Over half (55%) of advisors say only "some" clients are discussing long-term plans with children and other family members. Two in ten (22%) say "hardly any" are doing so.
While nine in ten advisors (88%) say it is "somewhat" or "very" likely that clients who wish to remain at home will be able to do so, remaining independent will rely on sharing plans with children and family members.
"We encourage all of our clients to take a proactive approach to long term care planning to navigate the costs and complexities of long-term care," said Chad Stevens, vice president and senior financial planner at Key Private Bank.
"With forecasting caregiving needs and addressing coordination of care named a top-three challenge by advisors, talking through long-term care desires early-on with family members will be crucial to setting expectations, delegating responsibilities and avoiding misunderstandings or surprises. It's never too soon to start having these conversations."
Covering Long-term Care Costs
While putting a plan in place and communicating needs is critical, advisors and clients differ in what they view as the best approach to manage the cost of long-term care, the poll found.
The key to bridging this divide and developing the best possible plan for the future is collaboration, according to advisors—half of whom indicate conversations about long-term care should occur at the outset of the client relationship (50%).
Most advisors say more robust planning sessions should occur between the ages of 40 and 50 (46%) or 50 and 60 (37%).
Only 2% of advisors would recommend holding off on long-term care discussions until clients raise the issue on their own.
