Personal Investments • Should we start doing Roth conversions?

I have wrestled with this one too. Roughly, $500K per person (indexed for inflation) seemed to me like a good number. I think that would cover 3 years per person.

It is likely good to have a reasonable plan for LTC but its always a challenge to have that plan work within a set of overall goals.
Some tough questions I have wrestled with some other folks include but are not limited to:
- Are you planning to not spend down any less than a floor of +$500K/person or $1M?
- Or do you have some other assett(s) like a home that may be used for some/all of this?
- If you are reserving $500K for LTC what are your thoughts on the odds of requiring the entire $500K?
- what are the odds of both spouses requiring the entire $1M?

For this thread, I was just giving a rough estimate for the OP. Of course, it is more complicated as your questions suggest. For me, I like seeing things in a plan, but don't want to be a slave to a plan. I know I want a healthy chunk always available for LTC in my 401K. I have mentioned this is other threads, but leaning towards both of us starting SS at 70 for added LTC/longevity protection. After that, anything left is fair game. LTC insurance doesn't cover all LTC needs (you can certainly use it all up) and my planning won't either. To me, doing some planning (a good chunk in my 401K and maxing SS) will likely get us there. If not, we will figure it out.

You mention available in 401k - does it make a difference if you use money in 401k or tIRA for LTC costs?

Generally - funds used for medical costs (most LTC costs) that exceed 7.5% of income are deductible in that tax year. Your deduction originating from a tax defferred account will be larger than from a taxable account.
Note - you mentioned that your future health coverage is from 'work' above. Please check to see if that coverage includes anything in the area of LTC.

Statistics: Posted by Nyc1967 — Fri Aug 09, 2024 2:53 pm — Replies 81 — Views 4443