The retirement blind spot that’s costing your clients millions

New York Life | August 12, 2026

Long-term care planning should start at 45, not 65

Retirement strategies that prioritize core pillars of financial health, like 401(k) optimization, investment allocation, and Social Security are tried and true for good reason. But there’s another important consideration: 70% of Americans turning 65 will need long-term care (LTC). Are you factoring this into your clients’ financial plans?

Data shows that only 45% of U.S. adults have accounted for healthcare and long-term care costs in their retirement planning. Additionally, retirees often assume health insurance will cover long-term care, and while 29% believe they own LTC coverage, actual ownership is closer to 3.1%. This perception gap creates a financial blind spot that can run unchecked until it’s too late. By assessing retirement options early on, you can help clients get ahead of these avoidable vulnerabilities while driving lasting trust in your client-advisor relationship.

The real cost of ignoring long-term care

Approximately 32% of adults are unsure whether they will outlive their savings, and long-term care is a direct driver of that uncertainty. Long-term care needs often develop gradually and can last for years, with women facing higher probability and longer duration. When families are left unprepared, longer-term care costs can force early downsizing, increase financial stress, and reduce inheritance plans.

Advisors who don’t plan for long-term care in broader financial strategies risk losing clients to those who do. Clients who are unprepared for long-term care costs don’t just face financial hardship, they also lose trust in the financial planning process and by proxy, the advisors who lead them through it. 

Meanwhile, advisors who proactively address this gap demonstrate how working with an advisor can create client confidence. In fact, 87% of adults working with a financial professional feel confident they will save enough for retirement, compared to 49% without one. Comprehensive long-term care planning is part of what makes clients and advisors more powerful, together.

By factoring long-term care considerations early, advisors can protect already established retirement plans from unexpected withdrawals, opening the door for deeper financial conversations, and building trust with clients long before care needs to begin.

The advisor advantage

Leading advisors are reframing long-term care as a priority item in financial planning. Instead of selling long-term care insurance as a separate product, they’re integrating comprehensive protection strategies that safeguard retirement income regardless of future health outcomes. 

This strategic pivot transforms the entire client experience. By embedding long-term care into holistic financial planning strategies, protection powers growth in tandem with your client’s core financial pillars like mortgage payoffs, college funding, and estate planning. 

The most effective advisors normalize these discussions, positioning long-term care as a standard component of mid-career financial review. This creates an opportunity to have proactive conversations when clients are younger, relatively healthy, and able to access better rates and better timelines for long-term planning.

Framework for early long-term care conversations

There are two core factors for successfully navigating long-term care planning with clients: timing and approach. 

First, it’s important that long-term care discussions are woven into regular financial reviews, beginning at the mid-career level. Long-term care belongs in early holistic financial planning strategies, alongside mortgage payoff, college funding, and estate planning. The most effective advisors position long-term care as a proactive planning exercise. To bring timeliness to these discussions, frame long-term care as a key part of proactive financial planning. If your client has been caring for aging parents, connect that experience back to their own plan for the future. 

Second, the most effective advisors anchor long-term care within the planning process. Viewing it through the lens of asset protection reframes the discussion as a critical component of financial security. Advisors who master comprehensive protection strategies, including long-term care planning, go beyond protecting client portfolios. Instead, they build practices distinguished by comprehensive planning that clients can’t find elsewhere – better protecting their clients, differentiating their practice, and creating additional revenue opportunities.