Income Insurance Agency

📅 Social Security 2032: 78% is not zero.

The 2026 Social Security Trustees project that the retirement and survivor trust fund can pay full scheduled benefits through the fourth quarter of 2032.

If Congress made no changes, continuing revenue is projected to cover approximately 78% of scheduled OASI benefits when reserves are depleted.

That is an important issue.

But it does not mean Social Security simply disappears.

Before claiming because of fear, understand:

👥 Spousal benefits
❤️ Survivor benefits
⏳ Early versus delayed claiming
💵 How dependent your household is on Social Security
🛡️ Other protected income sources

👉 Concerned about 2032? Contact me before making your Social Security claiming decision. Let’s review the questions you and your spouse should understand first.

❤️ The long-term care conversation is changing.

It is no longer simply:

“Will I need care?”

Families are increasingly asking:

💵 How much will it cost?
🏠 Can care be provided at home?
👨‍👩‍👧 Will the children need to help?
🏥 What does Medicare actually cover?
📄 When could Medicaid become part of the conversation?
🛡️ What insurance options are available before care is needed?

AARP’s latest August coverage emphasizes that choosing the right care setting and planning early can make a meaningful difference in the financial impact of long-term care.

👉 If your family has never discussed who would provide care and how it would be paid for, contact me. I can help you understand the long-term care and short-term care insurance options available before there is a crisis.



Image concept:

The hospital stay may end. The need for help may not.

After surgery, a stroke, an injury, or an illness, someone can be well enough to leave the hospital but still need help with:

🛁 Bathing and dressing
🥗 Preparing meals
💊 Medication reminders
🚶 Moving safely
🚗 Transportation
🤝 Temporary personal care

That is the gap many families do not think about until they are already facing discharge.

Short-term care insurance may provide limited-duration benefits for a qualifying recovery or care need at home or in another covered care setting. It is not the same as comprehensive long-term care insurance, but for some people it may provide an additional layer of protection.

It may also be worth discussing how short-term care could coordinate with a longer-term policy that has an elimination period before benefits begin.

If you are 50 or older, do not wait until discharge day to ask how care will be paid for.

📞 Contact Chris to learn how short-term care insurance and long-term care insurance differ—and what options may be available to you.

If you are planning to “self-insure” long-term care, ask yourself one more question.

How much of the risk do you really want your family to carry?

Long-term care is not only about whether you have enough assets to write the check.

A care event may also affect:

👨‍👩‍👧 Your spouse
👩‍💼 Your adult children
🏠 Where you can receive care
⏰ How much time family members spend caregiving
💰 How quickly other resources are used

Recent family stories show care costs reaching $10,000 a month or more—and the financial impact often reaches far beyond the person receiving care.

Long-term care insurance does not have to replace every dollar of the risk.

It may be used to transfer a portion of the risk and help preserve more choices about where care is received and who provides it.

If you are 50 or older, now is a good time to understand what individual long-term care and short-term care insurance options may be available while your health may still give you more choices.

📞 Contact Chris Liebum to learn more.

💵 Your paycheck eventually stops.

The need for monthly income does not.

An income annuity is an insurance contract that can be designed to provide income for a period of time or, depending on the contract, for life.

LIMRA recently reported record U.S. annuity sales of $123.9 billion in Q2 2026.

Before purchasing any annuity, understand:

🛡️ What is guaranteed
👥 Whether income covers one life or two
⏳ When income can begin
💵 How payments are determined
📄 Liquidity and surrender provisions
❤️ What happens at death

👉 Want to see what protected income could look like alongside Social Security or a pension? Contact me and I can prepare an educational income illustration for you.

Widow’s Income Cliff

❤️ One spouse dies. One Social Security payment may disappear.

Unfortunately, many of the bills do not.

The surviving spouse can face several changes at once:

💵 Less Social Security income
🧾 Different tax filing status
🏥 Lower IRMAA thresholds
🏠 Similar housing expenses
📄 Ongoing distributions and bills
❤️ Major decisions while grieving

That is the Widow’s Income Cliff.

For 2026, the basic standard deduction is $32,200 for married couples filing jointly versus $16,100 for single filers, illustrating just one of the changes that can accompany a shift in filing status.

👉 Married couples: contact me and let’s identify what income continues, what stops and what insurance is available if one of you is suddenly alone.

📅 2032 does not mean Social Security disappears.

The 2026 Social Security Trustees project that OASI reserves could be depleted in the fourth quarter of 2032.

Without a legislative change, ongoing program income is currently projected to cover about 78% of scheduled benefits at that point.

That is serious.

But fear should not automatically determine when you claim.

Before filing, couples should understand:

👥 Spousal benefits
❤️ Survivor benefits
⏳ Claiming early vs. waiting
💵 Other household income
🛡️ Protected income sources

👉 Thinking about claiming early because of 2032? Contact me before you file. Let’s walk through the questions you and your spouse should understand first.

Reviewing your life insurance during these times is key.

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Medicare Won’t Pay for Everything

🏥 “Medicare will pay if I need long-term care.”

This may be one of the most expensive Medicare misunderstandings.

Medicare can cover certain qualifying skilled care. But Medicare says it generally does not cover ongoing custodial long-term care such as help with bathing, dressing, eating or other daily activities when that is the care you need.

That care may happen:

🏠 At home
🏢 In assisted living
🧠 In memory care
🏥 In a nursing facility

So the real question is:

Who pays when Medicare stops—or never starts?

👉 If Medicare is currently your long-term care strategy, contact me. Let’s have an educational conversation about what Medicare covers and the insurance options available for what it does not.