Your Advice on Long-Term Care

In two recent columns, I wrote about longevity and the risk of outliving your savings (see “Living in Retirement,” Dec. 2025) and how to pay for long-term care should you need it (see “Living in Retirement,” Feb. 2026).

- LIVING IN RETIREMENT BY JANET BODNAR

In response, I received a number of thoughtful suggestions from readers. Here’s a sampling.

From Steve Muskatell: “Another option to fund long-term care is using funds set aside in a health savings account. During my working years, I funded my HSA each year. I used the investment option within the account and never used the funds. I now have a sizable amount available that I can access tax-free for any future long-term-care needs.”

From Kenneth Jarosch: “In 1999, I applied for a long-term-care insurance policy for both myself and my wife. I was accepted, but she was denied due to a health issue. Later, she was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. In 2019, I requested that all distributions from my non-retirement accounts be sent to my bank account instead of being reinvested. Either way, they are taxed, so taking them didn’t change the tax. I just took distributions and didn’t sell any shares. This paid for my wife’s care.”