Intro
If you love to travel or imagine retiring outside the U.S., it is worth thinking ahead about how long-term care insurance works beyond our borders. Many countries, like Costa Rica and Thailand, offer high-quality long-term care at a fraction of U.S. costs, which makes living abroad an appealing option for many retirees.
The catch is that most long-term care insurance policies offer limited international benefits. Coverage is often capped at a lower amount, restricted to a shorter period of time, or subject to additional rules that can surprise people when they actually need care. In this short post, I will walk through how the strongest policies on the market handle international care and what that means if living abroad is part of your plan.
As you consider your options, let the letters “LTC” guide you: Learn about the choices available, Talk openly with family, and Create a plan that supports your shared future.
Post jargon
benefit: the amount LTCi pays for covered care expenses
benefit period: the maximum time LTCi pays for care after criteria are met
benefit pool: total amount available in LTCi for care expenses
cash indemnity: pays the full benefit, regardless of the actual care costs
➡️ Explore all the LTC jargon
The Winners
To make this more useful than a simple table with footnotes, I ranked the policies from strongest to weakest when it comes to international benefits.
🥇 Securian SecureCare IV
This is the most flexible option on the market for international long-term care. It pays 100% of benefits outside the U.S. and does not require care to be overseen by a U.S. doctor. Benefits must be deposited into a U.S. bank account, and claims need to be submitted in English, but otherwise you're good to go.
Jesse Vickey
🥈 Brighthouse Smart Care
In second place, this policy allows the full monthly benefit and full benefit period to be paid outside the U.S. The main limitation is administrative. Your Plan of Care, and any updates to it, must be prescribed by a physician licensed in the U.S. Telehealth visits are allowed, but make sure you already have an established relationship with a U.S. doctor.
Jesse Vickey
🥉 Nationwide CareMatters Annuity
This policy also offers 100% international benefits, but it comes in third because the LTC benefits can often be lower than the two top options. If you already have some health issues or in your 70s, this policy could turn out to be your best option.
Jesse Vickey
Runner Ups
Most other long-term care policies offer limited international benefits. In many cases, once those international benefits are used up, you can return to the U.S. and continue using the remainder of your policy benefits there.
- Nationwide CareMatters II and Together - International benefits are only available for the first two years. If you expect to rely on this policy outside the U.S., a two year benefit period with 5% inflation protection may make the most sense.
- OneAmerica Asset Care - This policy pays up to 50% of the monthly maximum reimbursement benefit, only for facility-based care, and only for the first two years.
- Lincoln MoneyGuard - International benefits apply only to care received in a nursing home or assisted living facility and are capped at a total of 3 years.
- Mutual of Omaha MutualCare - Pays up to 12 months in cash benefits, but treats Canada and the UK the same as the U.S.
- NGL EssentialLTC - Coverage outside the U.S. and Canada is limited to 30 days per calendar year.
- Thrivent Standalone - International benefits are capped at 2x the current monthly maximum for your lifetime. For example, a $5,000 monthly benefit results in a lifetime maximum of $10,000 for care outside the U.S.
Next steps
If international benefits are important to you, mention this in your notes at the final step of your quote request.
Wrap up
If living abroad is part of your long-term plan, international benefits deserve more than a footnote in your policy. The right coverage can be the difference between a brief return home and continuing to live like one of those actors in a Corona ad, under palm trees, near the beach, exactly where you planned to be.
