Aging in Place as a Couple: When One Partner Becomes the Caregiver
When one partner needs care, the other is often the first to step in, which can strain their health, finances, and the relationship. Couples can plan ahead by talking through what each would want, agreeing when to bring in outside help, making the home work for both, and deciding how care would be paid for.
What does spousal caregiving ask?
Physical work, time, and emotional energy, often at an age when the caregiving partner has health needs of their own.
What should you talk about now?
If one of us needed help every day, what would we want?
When would we bring in outside help?
Would we stay in this home?
How would we pay for care, and what would that leave for the other partner?
When should you bring in help?
Agree on it in advance. Setting the signal ahead of time, like when daily care starts taking more than a few hours, makes it easier to act on later.
How can couples pay for care?
Couples can buy individual long-term care coverage or joint coverage. The joint coverage we offer shares one benefit pool that either partner can use, and if neither needs care, a death benefit is paid after the second person passes. See Long-Term Care Insurance for Couples. The NAIC calls this “shared care”: benefits either person uses are subtracted from the shared total. (NAIC Shopper’s Guide)
How do you protect the healthier partner?
Staying Power is a licensed insurance agency that helps couples plan how care would be paid for.
Paying for one partner’s care can draw down savings the other will need later. Planning ahead helps keep both futures intact. Get started to see what care costs and how to fund it.
Related reading: Planning Ahead for Cognitive Decline and Making Your Home Age-Ready, Room by Room.
Frequently asked questions
Can long-term care insurance pay me to care for my spouse?
It depends on the policy and the plan of care. Ask a licensed agent how this works for the coverage you’re considering.
Is joint coverage better than two individual policies?
Each has tradeoffs. Joint coverage offers flexibility; individual policies give each person a dedicated benefit.
