NU Online News Service, Jan. 31, 3:50 p.m. – TIAA-CREF Life Insurance Company, New York, says it is offering couples who buy its long-term care insurance two new optional benefits: shared care and survivor waiver of premium.
The shared-care benefit rider allows policyholders to share their policy benefits with a spouse who has exhausted benefits. Also, if the first spouse dies, the surviving spouse will have access to any remaining benefits. This rider is available for LTC insurance policies with a three-year or five-year benefit period.
The survivor waiver-of-premium rider, available with all benefit periods, allows for a permanent waiver of premium if one spouse dies and both policies have been in force for at least five years. The rider is designed to reduce the financial burdens that can occur after the death of a loved one, TIAA-CREF says.
"These new riders will be of particular interest to women since they statistically live longer than men," says Cheryl DeMaio, a TIAA-CREF Life vice president. "In fact, because of their longer life spans, 31% of women will spend more than a year in a nursing home compared with 14% of men."
Citing an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, DeMaio notes 21% of people who enter a nursing home past age 65 will need more than five years of care.
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