Summary
As the average age of the U.S. population continues to increase, the development and implementation of effective ways to provide for long-term care needs and expenses will become an increasingly important factor in the financial security of retirees and their families. This issue of Research Dialogue presents a detailed review and analysis of issues related to the financing of long-term care expenses. The article includes a description of data and trends relevant to long-term care needs and costs, a review of survey results regarding the plans and attitudes of TIAA-CREF participants regarding long-term care, a description of currently available long-term care insurance products, and, finally, a discussion of some new ideas relating to how long-term care expenses could be financed in the future. The article was prepared for Research Dialogue by Mark J. Warshawsky, Ph.D., director of research, TIAA-CREF Institute; Lee Granza, product manager for long-term care insurance, TIAA-CREF; and Anna Madamba, Ph.D., senior research analyst, TIAA-CREF. The fourth section of this issue is a slightly modified version of a section that appeared in an earlier article by the same authors (Granza, Madamba, and Warshawsky, "Financing Long-term Care: Employee Needs and Attitudes, and the Employer’s Role," Benefits Quarterly, Fourth Quarter 1998, pp. 60–72). We use parts of that earlier article with the permission of the publisher. For related reading, go to Long-term Care Knowledge and Awareness Survey Report Findings, a 1998 survey that examined TIAA-CREF participants' familiarity with and attitudes toward long-term care assistance.
