One of the most important parts of elder care is ensuring that you or your loved one is financially secure in later years. A wide variety of financial tools and plans are available to help structure this care for seniors, but as of July a new tool has been introduced for retirement planning that has not been widely available before – longevity insurance.
What is Longevity Insurance?
Longevity insurance is also known as a deferred-income annuity. You pay a lump sum of money as a premium to an insurer in exchange for a lifelong stream of income that begins years later, even as late as your 70s or 80s. Before July, longevity insurance could not be widely used in 401(k) or other individual retirement plans because those types of plans require that the holder start making withdrawals at age 70½. The rules have now been changed that allow workers to purchase these annuities if they use a portion of their retirement money and begin to make withdrawals by age 85.