For more information: 
Rick Uhlmann 608/231-8940 rick.uhlmann@cunamutual.com
Phil Tschudy 608/231-7188 philip.tschudy@cunamutual.com

June 20, 2008
 
Demand is Rising for Long-Term Care Insurance
Lack of Coverage Presents High Risk to Retirement Funds, Discovery Attendees Told
 
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Long-term care insurance is one of the most sought-after executive benefits today, while the need for long-term care remains the greatest unfunded liability a person can face in retirement, attendees of CUNA Mutual Group’s Discovery Conference were told Friday.
 
Long-term care involves a variety of services which help meet the medical and non-medical needs of people with a chronic illness or disability who cannot care for themselves for extended periods of time.
 
Other significant risk factors are covered by various forms of insurance—health, home and vehicle—but long-term care is not widely insured. Yet the need is real and growing, said Michael McNerney, senior long-term care specialist for CUNA Mutual.
 
“As many as 70 percent of people over age 65 receive some home care and the average cost of nursing home care is $195 per day,” said McNerney. “An unexpected need for long-term care, either for the executive or a family member, can virtually wipe out an entire lifetime of savings.”
 
Credit unions are faced with increased competition for talented key executives. Offering long-term care as part of an executive benefit plan satisfies a growing demand. “Long-term care is an innovative benefit that is becoming expected. In a 2001 survey, 17 percent of respondents included long-term care insurance in executive benefit packages. By 2007, that number rose to 27 percent. An increase of 10 percent in that timeframe is extremely significant,” McNerney said.
 
Yet the majority of credit unions today do not offer long-term care insurance as part of an executive benefits package. This is a concern, McNerney said, because most retirement projections do not take the possible need for long-term care into consideration.
 
“Long-term care insurance is a win-win situation for credit unions and credit union executives,” said McNerney. “For the executive, long-term care insurance completes a lifetime of retirement planning, acts as an umbrella of protection over other accumulated benefits and provides for the entire family if care is needed. For the credit union, long-term care insurance can be used as a tool to reward and retain key executives, is a flexible benefit component and costs only pennies on the dollar.”
 
The federal government is taking steps to encourage workers to invest in long-term care insurance by setting favorable tax treatments of long-term care benefits. The benefits are not taxable as income and the premiums may be deductible as a medical expense. The government has set these tax advantages in order to help relieve a strain on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, McNerney said.
 
Recognized as a premier hands-on professional development conference for credit union leaders, CUNA Mutual’s Discovery Conference offers more than 55 work sessions that deliver relevant content and actionable takeaways.  Credit union leaders also benefit from the extraordinary networking and hands-on learning opportunities.
 
CUNA Mutual Group is a leading provider of financial services to cooperatives, credit unions, their members and valued customers worldwide. With more than 70 years of market commitment, CUNA Mutual’s vision is unwavering: to be a trusted business partner who delivers service excellence and customer-focused, best-in-class products and market-driven innovation. More information on the company is available on the company’s Web site at www.cunamutual.com.