I am a huge fan of the various experts who provide practical financial advice. And, having listened to many of them for more than 50 years, some of their advice is well placed. But not everything is accurate.

So Dave Ramsey advised his millions of followers that long-term care insurance planning should start at age 65 – he’s doing a significant injustice to a large percentage of innocent followers.

The 15 second “starts at 65” sound sounds good. And indeed, you could say that it makes sense to start planning for what typically ushers in retirement. After all, the cost of needing long-term care is the single biggest risk to a secure retirement that people face.

But Ramsey is overlooking a very serious fact about long-term care insurance. Individuals must meet health requirements when requesting this protection. However, put more simply, insurers are selective in who they accept as clients. Applicants who have health problems are more likely to ultimately file claims. If insurers did not screen applicants, but accepted all stakeholders, healthy applicants would bear the cost of additional overall risk.

Therefore, when a person applies for coverage, they will have to answer medical and health questions. Physician records can be requested.

This is the important fact that Dave Ramsey overlooks when advising people to start planning at age 65. According to independent research of more than 155,000 applicants for individual long-term care insurance in 2009, about 23.0 percent (nearly one in four) of those who actually applied for long-term care insurance were declined coverage. for health reasons.

Only 14.0 percent of applicants between the ages of 50 and 59 were rejected and less than one in 10 (9.5%) under the age of 50 were rejected.

Keep in mind that these numbers reflect people who took the time to meet with an insurance professional, complete, and submit an application for insurance protection. Insurance agents who know that clients will definitely be turned away will not waste their time or prospects.

So I’m very sorry that Dave Ramsey was wrong. The time to start planning for long-term care is when you have the most options. If you see long-term care insurance as one of those options, then the best time to apply is in your 50s. That’s when you are still likely to qualify for health.

Two final points for Ramsey to consider. Once a doctor qualifies for long-term care insurance, the insurer cannot cancel it if your health changes. Second, insurers offer discounts to applicants who are in better health. Approximately 46.0 percent of applicants between the ages of 50 to 59 qualified for this discount. For ages 60 to 69, the percentage was only 38.0 percent.

Facts every Dave Ramsey fan needs to know.