Peace-of-Mind Policy

We all insure our most valued assets: our homes, our cars, our lives. Then why not insure your retirement plans against the unexpected and potentially devastating costs of long-term custodial care?

John Hancock says it aims to let its customers do just that -- and make long-term-care insurance dramatically easier to understand -- with its new Leading Edge policy, which hits the market this week.

It's human nature to avoid thinking about growing older. Who wants to consider the possibility that your parents -- or you -- will need help with basic tasks like bathing, dressing or even getting out of bed?

The assistance you may need is very costly and could easily wipe out your retirement savings. The latest MetLife survey shows that the average cost of care in a private room in a nursing home is more than $75,000 a year.

(And this is particularly a women's issue, as 72% of all nursing-home residents are female, many of whom spent their energy and money taking care of a now-deceased spouse and find themselves alone and impoverished.)

This kind of custodial care is not covered by Medicare or supplemental policies, only by long-term care insurance policies that will pay for assistance in your home, an assisted-living facility or in a nursing home.