Northwestern Mutual launches Long-Term Advantage

MILWAUKEE, Sept. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern Mutual announced today the launch of Long-Term Advantage, a new offering designed to help people pay for long-term care needs – which, if ultimately not needed, will instead provide a life insurance benefit. The offering, which also has a guaranteed premium and will not be subject to rate increases, features a variety of key benefits, including:

• Long-term care benefit: Six years of guaranteed coverage for qualified long-term care expenses, plus the potential for up to 10 years of total coverage.
• Death benefit: A guaranteed death benefit, in case the policyowner does not need long-term care or needs only a limited amount of care – including the potential for growth of the death benefit over time through annual life insurance dividends.
• Accumulated value: Surrender value, in case the client's life circumstances change.

Long-term care planning is an essential component of financial security in retirement. An individual who lives to be 65 years of age has a 50% chance of eventually needing long-term care and the costs of care continue to rise. For example, according to Northwestern Mutual's Cost of Care Calculator, the average cost of a home health aide today is $27/hour, which is projected to rise to $49/hour by 2042 (assuming care costs increase at a typical rate of 3% per year).

"Planning for long-term care means making decisions today about a future that is 20 or 30 years away, and in our conversations with clients, we know that people want to maximize the choices and control they have over this time period," said Kamilah Williams-Kemp, vice president of risk products at Northwestern Mutual. "With this new offering, we are innovating to deliver flexibility and the certainty of guaranteed premiums, maximizing the long-term care and death benefits, and providing the added ability to increase product value over time through dividends."

Dividends are one of the most important ways that Northwestern Mutual delivers value to the policyowners of its insurance products. Northwestern Mutual has paid a dividend for 150 consecutive years, and this year the payout was a record of $6.5 billion.

"Our trusted financial advisors work closely with clients to build plans that can support long, healthy and happy retirements," said Williams-Kemp. "Part of that planning includes thinking through the realities of needing care as we age and helping people create plans that will give them choices. These choices could include aging at home or getting care at a high-quality facility. Every individual situation is different, but most people agree they don't want to rely on their loved ones to shoulder the financial, emotional and physical burdens of caregiving."

The new Long-Term Advantage offering joins Northwestern Mutual's long-term care insurance solution suite, which also includes QuietCare®, a standalone long-term care insurance solution, and Whole Life Plus with Accelerated Care Benefit (ACB), a life insurance product with a long-term care rider. One, or a combination of these offerings, can be used to meet a client's needs.