California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) long-term care insurance policyholders got a rude awakening this month.
For the second time since 2003 CalPERS has deemed it necessary to increase the rates for long-term care insurance policyholders as much as 40%.
I remember in 2003 how some people were so upset but would not consider any alternative. Now they face another increase and the option of switching to another long-term care insurance will be costlier if not impossible if their health has changed.
Comparing the new increase with the current going rates for the big companies this increase may not be enough which might mean another increase in the next 3-5 years.
In 2003 the rate increase for one 65 year old I talked to was $370. This new increase for that person who is now 69 will be about $740. That’s $1,110 more per year for his LTC insurance than when he signed up.
Juliana said
Why can’t they seem to get it together? I’ve heard no explanation, the letter everyone got and the CalPERS website gave no reason. Are they just incompetent?
I’m so mad right now I can’t see straight. My husband’s and my policy just went up $930. We haven’t yet decided what to do. We still have a couple weeks to think about it.
Paul G. said
I signed up last year. I’m not staying around for another increase in a couple years. In fact they’re not any cheaper than Genworth now considering the deductibles. It’s a poorly designed and run system and I’m getting out.
SD said
This is the last straw with Calpers. I worked for the state for 28 years in law enforcement and this is how we are rewarded.
First it was the retirement fund collapse due in a large part to their investments in Enron and other corrupt companies. Then they found out they miscalculated their health plans and raised rates.
This is the third and probably not the last time they are going to stick it to their members. It’s the last time they do it to me, I’m going somewhere else.
Jesse said
I decided to get the one year policy to shore up our Pers policy. I didn’t realize that there was such an expensive deductible. For both my wife and I it would be at least $20,000 that we would pay on top of our premiums. I don’t think most Pers members know this. I pray that this is the last increase for a long time.
Dennis said
We were unaware of how much PERS didn’t cover financially until we read your comparison. I checked with PERS and the figures are correct.
What I learned from this is that I have to be an even more informed consumer and cannot afford to make assumptions.
We now have some hard decisions to make but we also understand that if we don’t make them now we may not have the choices later.
Loren D. said
I can’t believe some of my co-workers are going to keep their policy with calpers. Would they do that if calpers was an insurance company? I doubt it. There is no reason to keep getting shafted when there are better products for the money. Calpers earned $29 billion with their investments last year yet they raise these rates, why?
Lauren Gershen said
fyi on Calpers rate increase this year!
Robert Bradle said
Lauren
When the PERS program was created it was financed with a loan from the retirment fund. There was a stipulation that the long-term care program would not ask the retirment fund for any more money. They are two seperate programs. Unfortuately the long-term care program is underfunded and that’s why they are raising rates.
This doesn’t make the increases any easier, but I thought you should,at least, know why.