Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 27, 2016

THE GOOD LIFE

11

Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 27, 2016 

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

MAKE LONG-TERM CARE COVERAGE MORE AFFORDABLE


Dear Savvy Senior,

I have been thinking about getting a long-term 
care insurance policy, but have found the monthly 
premiums to be very expensive. How can I find 
cheaper coverage?

Getting Old 

Dear Getting,

Cost is usually the biggest factor that keeps most 
people from purchasing long-term care insurance 
– only around 8 million Americans currently have 
a policy.

 Depending on your age, health, and the 
provisions of the policy, costs can range anywhere 
from $1,000 up to $5,000 a year for an individual 
policy that covers nursing home care, assisted 
living and in-home care. Fortunately, there are 
various cost-cutting strategies that can help you 
save and still get adequate coverage. Here are 
several to consider.

 Buy young: The most basic way to get long-term 
care insurance at a cheaper rate is by purchasing 
it at a younger age. For example, a typical policy 
that costs a 55-year-old $1,500 a year in premiums 
could cost a 65-year-old $3,000. Health is another 
fact that can affect costs. While good health can 
lower your monthly payments, having a preexisting 
medical condition can increase your costs, or you 
may not be able to get insurance at all.

 Sign up as a pair: Many insurers offer 20 to 30 
percent discounts on premiums if you sign-up at 
the same time as your spouse, partner or sibling.

 Choose a shorter benefit period: Most people 
need long-term care for just under three years on 
average. So, by choosing a policy that covers you 
for two or three years, versus five or more years, it 
can cut your premiums by 20 to 40 percent. 

 Lengthen the time you pay: Most policies have 
30 to 90-day waiting periods that require you to 
pay out-of-pocket for care before the policy kicks 
in. By choosing a longer wait period, it can lower 
your premiums 15 to 20 percent.

 Lower the daily benefit: You can get a policy that 
pays out $100, $150, $200 per day or more, but 
the higher the benefit, the higher your premium. 
So consider a plan that covers two-thirds the daily 
cost, and pay the other third out of savings. That 
could cut your premiums by about one-third.

 Buy lower inflation protection: Inflation 
coverage protects you from the rising costs of care. 
Five percent compounded annually has been a 
common practice in the industry but it’s expensive. 
Consider a policy that has a 3 percent CPI-adjusted 
inflation protection. This can save you 50 percent 
or more.

 Get state help: Currently, 41 states have a long-
term care partnership program that can help you 
save too. Under these programs, if you buy a long-
term care policy approved by your state Medicaid 
agency, you can protect an amount of assets from 
Medicaid equal to the benefits that your policy pays 
out. With this program, you can choose a shorter 
benefit period, which will lower your premiums. 
See aaltci.org/partnership to learn more.

 Buy a hybrid policy: If the thought of paying 
expensive monthly premiums for long-term care 
insurance – which you may never use – is keeping 
you from buying a policy, consider one that 
combines long-term care insurance with either 
a life insurance policy or an annuity. Hybrid life 
insurance policies provide a death benefit for your 
heirs and a pool of money you can use for long-
term care. Any funds you use for care are generally 
subtracted from the death benefit. While hybrid 
annuity policies generally allows you to purchase a 
deferred annuity, which can be used for long-term 
care or if you don’t need care, it can be redeemed 
for its accumulated value when it matures, or left to 
your heirs when you die.

 To find a policy that offers the best rates, get a 
long-term care insurance specialist who works 
with a variety of companies. See aaltci.org to locate 
one. Also shop insurers like Northwestern Mutual 
and New York Life, who work only with their own 
agents.

 Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. 
Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.
org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today 
show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …February Birthdays*

Cathrine Adde, Hilda Pittman, Anne-Marie Stockdale, Ann Luke, Susan 
Henderson, Jan Reed, Peter Lippincott, Georgia Lippincott, Allie Attay, Ursula El-
Tawansy, Gladys Moser, Sylvia Lorhan, Ana Ptanski, Winifred Swanson , Marian 
DeMars, Vickie Vernon, Mary Beth Knox, Sharon Lefler, Gordon Caldwell. * To 
add your name to this distinguished list, please call the paper at 626.355.2737. YEAR of birth 
not required

...................................................................

ACTIVITIES: Unless listed differently, all activities are at the 
Hart Park House (Senior Center) 222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre

 

 

 YWCA San Gabriel Valley - Intervale Senior Cafe 

Seniors 60 years of age and up can participate in the YWCA Intervale daily lunch program held 
at the Hart Park House Senior Center. Meals are served Monday through Friday at 12:00 pm 
and participants are encouraged to arrive by 11:45 am. Meals are a suggested donation of $3.00 
for seniors 60 and over or $5.00 for non-senior guests. Daily reservations are necessary, space is 
limited. Please reserve your lunch by calling 626-355-0256.

Tech Talk: Held on Monday, January 25th from 1:30-2:30pm. Learn how to use your new 
technology devises. Please reserve your space with the Hart Park House by calling 626-355-7394. 

 

Hawaiian and Polynesian Dance Class: Every Tuesday morning from 10am to 11am. Join 
instructor Barbara Dempsey as she instructs you in the art of hula. 

 

Bingo: Every Tuesday beginning at 1:00pm. Cards are only $0.25 each! Everyone is welcome to 
join. May be canceled if less than 5 people. 

 

Free Blood Pressure Testing: 2nd Tuesday of the month from 11am to 12pm. No appt. is 
necessary. 

 

Brain Games: Thursday, January 21st, 10:30am - 11:30am, improve your memory and strengthen 
your brain. Activities facilitated by Hugo, Community Liaison for New Wave Home care of 
Pasadena. 

 

Free Legal Consultation: Wednesday, January 27th from 10:30am to Noon. Attorney Lem 
Makupson is available for legal consultation. He specializes in Family Law, Wills, Trusts, Estates, 
and Injury. Appointment are required by calling 626-355-7394. 

Balance Class: No Balance Class due to Martin Luther King Holiday. 

 

Chair Yoga: Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:00 to 11:45 am. A suggested donation of $5 at one 
of the classes is requested, but is not required. 

 

Case Management: Meets the 2nd Thursday of the month. Case Management services are 
provided by the YWCA and provide assistance in a variety of areas. Appointments are required 
and can be scheduled by calling the HPH Office at 626-355-7394. 

 

Birthday Celebrations: Every second Thursday of the month at the Hart Park House. The free 
birthday cake is provided by the Sierra Madre Civic Club. 

 

Game Day: Every Thursday starting at 12:00pm. (Please note the time change.) A regular group of 
seniors play poker. Other games available for use. 

 

Free Strength Training Class: Every Friday from 12:45pm to 1:30pm with Lisa Brandley. The 
class utilizes light weights for low impact resistance training. All materials for the class are 
provided. 

 

Senior Club: Every Saturday at the Hart Park House Senior Center. Brown bag lunch at 11:30am. 
Club meeting at noon. Bingo 12:30-3:30pm. Annual Membership is only $10.00. 


KATIE Tse.....................This and That

FLYING PENGUINS & 

OTHER TOUCHING STUFF

There are two kinds of people --those who cry at 
sad movies, and those who don’t. Usually most 
of the former group are women, while the latter 
group are predominantly men. There are a few 
exceptions. I wouldn’t say that my husband goes 
in for sappy things, like sentimental songs or 
fluffy greeting cards. I tend to tear up more easily 
at poignant moments than he does. But all that 
ends when it comes to movies.

 It’s become a joke with us that I have a heart 
of stone when watching tear-jerker films. I can 
watch Tom Hanks leave Helen Hunt in “Cast 
Away,” Leonardo DiCaprio slip into the Atlantic 
in “Titanic,” and Mel Gibson’s last speech in 
“Braveheart,” all with a dry eye. About two 
minutes into the big cry scene I’ll feel a nudge 
on my shoulder and 
hear my teary-eyed 
husband saying, “You 
have no heart!” which 
always makes me 
laugh.

 But it’s not true. 
There are plenty of 
movies that make me 
cry, no matter how 
many times I watch 
them. I’m a closet old 
person, so you might not recognize some of these 
iconic scenes: Ronald Coleman embracing Jane 
Wyatt after making the harrowing trek to Shangri 
La in “Lost Horizon.” Carry Grant reconnecting 
with his lost love, Deborah Kerr, and realizes 
she has become wheelchair-bound in “An Affair 
to Remember.” In “Random Harvest,” Ronald 
Coleman recovers from amnesia, returns home, 
and recognizes his beloved wife. (You might 
notice a Ronal Coleman theme in this list.) Yes, 
these scenes never fail to move me to tears.

 Crying at movies is one thing, but crying at 
commercials is a new low. If you haven’t seen the 
BBC ad with flying penguins, you must find it on 
You Tube! Watch it and tell me if it doesn’t stir 
something within you. It starts with a reporter 
approaching a colony of dumpy penguins which 
he says are unusual in their ability to fly! Then 
the blubbery birds start “running,” launch 
themselves onto an icy runway, and start flapping 
like crazy. More of their group join them and 
eventually they all lift off the ground! Suddenly 
the sky is filled with penguins streamlined like 
torpedoes flying through the air.

 We see them soaring around glaciers as the 
narrator explains that these special penguins 
migrate from the icy wastes of the Arctic to lush, 
tropical rainforests in 
South America. The 
final few shots are 
of pudgy penguins 
lighting down in fruit 
trees to the surprise 
of toucans and other 
rainforest animals.

 Of course, the 
commercial’s intent is 
for you to order this 
new BBC series, but 
I see it as a spiritual analogy. This earth, with 
its many pains and sorrows can seem like a dead 
wasteland with no sign of improvement or escape. 
Yet God takes the most undeserving people 
(myself being chief among them), promises to 
transform our lowly bodies into glorified ones, 
and gives us the hope of coming home to a place 
of such beauty and perfect happiness that we 
cannot imagine. BBC probably didn’t have this 
in mind when they made this ad, but I tear up 
with joy every time I see it!


626-355-5700245 West Sierra Madre BlvdSierra Madre, CA 91024www.TheKensingtonSierraMadre.comRCFE License198601953At first, Dad and I didn’tsee eye to eye about moving toThe Kensington, but sincehe did, we’re both thrilledLimited Senior Living Suites Still AvailableCall or Visit to Reserve Yours Today
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