Long-term care is of particular concern to women because first, they are most often the primary caregiver to an ailing spouse or family member, and then later in life, they require care themselves.

The simple fact is that women have longer life spans than men and as such, need services after their partners are deceased. Plus, due to longer life expectancies, women have higher rates of chronic disease and disability. This means that the majority of nursing home residents and those with Alzheimers disease are women.

Therefore, planning is especially important for women living alone (widowed, divorced or single) because they have no one in their household to help with basic daily activities should they become incapacitated.

According to the American Association of Long-term Care Insurance (AALTCI), 44% of men and 72% of women over age 65 will need long-term care. The AALTCI reports that over two-thirds of all LTCI individual insurance claims benefits are paid to women (2007). The AALTCI states that women benefit from long-term care insurance more than men, with 41% of single women receiving benefits, compared with only 12% of single men.

The Public Policy Institute of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) reports that among people age 75 or older, women are 60% more likely than men to need help with one or more activities of daily living, such as eating, bathing, dressing, or getting around inside the home.

The AARP also reports that millions of older women cannot afford to pay for long-term care services because of low income. Marital status is an important consideration, according to the AARP, because married couples have higher incomes than single persons. For women age 75 or older and living alone, the median household income was approximately $14,600 in 2004-2005. In contrast, married couples age 75 and older had a median annual income of more than $35,000.

This is an important fact because of the high cost of long-term care services. Medicare will only pay a small amount towards long-term care for a very limited time. Medicaid will only pay after your assets have run down or are very limited. Women typically are lower wage earners than their male counterparts and therefore, often run out of financial resources later in life. Thus, they find themselves unable to pay for long-term care at home or in a facility.

For women, there is no such thing as planning too early for long-term care services. By planning ahead and purchasing a good long term care insurance policy, women can secure their independence throughout their latter years and have the financial means to choose where they prefer to receive their long term care.