Acclaimed actor and author Rob Lowe helped Genworth kick-off the “Let’s Talk Tour” with Genworth CEO, Tom McInerney in front of New Your City’s iconic Flatiron building! Did I mention this is my neighborhood?
The Let’s Talk tour is a national initiative to get people talking about long term care planning. And since folks usually talk over a cup of coffee, the tour will be bringing with it a 3 story talking mug!
The only time I ever thought of long term care planning was in relation to my parents who are 79 and 80 respectively. My mom made them invest in just this sort of insurance years ago so they could lock in a good rate. Great, they are taken care of, but now what about me and my spouse?
Well, guess who is 55 and who’s only plan for the future is to live in his son’s basement where I have been promised one of those chairs that will electronically take me up the stairs? Granted, now that the Supreme Court has validated my same sex marriage, I feel safer knowing that I am entitled to my spouse’s social security, but that is not enough. This long term care subject is one that I now need to think about on a very personal level, and you should be thinking of this as well:
“The United States is undergoing a profound demographic change – every day, over 10,000 Americans turn 65, so that during the next forty years, the U.S. population over 65 will double, and the population over 85 will triple.”
I want to live a long time, I came late to parenthood and want to enjoy grand-parenthood as well someday, but I never want to be a burden on my son who has no siblings to help him take care of his older parents. I admit that in the back of my mind I feel like Medicare will cover me, but the truth is that government run full long term care, which may not be the best, is generally available from Medicare only after you have completely depleted your entire savings and other monies. I think it would be better not to have to rely on Medicare, and a Medicare facility, which may not be the best. I would like to have better choices.
Private long term care insurance is an important component in financing long term care services. Genworth is a leader in this field, and that is why they are starting this national conversation and collecting current research.
The Genworth #LetsTalk Tour is visiting five cities across the United States – New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas – in addition to engaging people via social media. Through 1:1 interactions on the #LetsTalk Tour, the company plans to connect with at least 15,000 people, who will help Genworth better understand attitudes regarding long term care and how best to start a family conversation about long term care planning. The New York stop was on June 27th and 28th and served to open my eyes. Are you near enough to one of these other stops to come by and talk to Genworth so they can learn from you what your future needs may be, or how you think you are going to cover your long term care:
- Chicago, July 9 ‐13
- Los Angeles, August 30 – September 1
- San Francisco, September 6 – 7
- Dallas, October 2 ‐ 6
Research is showing that 70% of Americans over the age of 65 are going to need long term care. I am 10 years away from that age and was not even thinking in terms of my own future needs.
Rob Lowe shared that he has two children and acknowledged that these are awkward conversations to have, and that we are better off having them now versus later as we seem to continue to grow older daily! I was hoping to stay 55 but that doesn’t seem to be possible!
At the NY tour visitors were welcomed from 9 am to 7 pm. They were invited to participate in an interactive quiz about surprising facts that were shown on the outside of the 3 story mug. They were also asked questions, such as, who would they need to discuss this with, where would they have the “talk,” and how did they think the talk would take shape. My son is 11 so he is not having this talk with us, we had to have a fire lit under us by learning from my visit to this huge coffee mug. I had to share what I had learned with my spouse. Did I mention he feels immortal and doesn’t realize that he just turned 49?
Visitors were able to go inside the mug to have their photo taken with a smaller, yet still giant mug with a message addressed to the person they named when answering the “who” question. For example, “Dad, Let’s Talk!” A photo is emailed to you so you can share it with friends and family. The photo was also printed on-site with a conversation checklist on the back. This is very useful to get the conversation started with the generation ahead of you!
Everyone received a complimentary cup of coffee and mug. Also, throughout the day, prizes were distributed.
So, please start to think about what you have planned for your future. Do you have all the financial resources in place for your future medical needs, and any home care you might need as well? I am looking forward to finding out the results of Genworth’s research from their 5 city tour, and I am also looking forward to starting the process of putting a plan in place for my own future, something I was not thinking about because I was focused only on my own parents. But the time for me is now as well. And it is good to know that Genworth has been a leader in long term care insurance, because it is time for me to start looking at policies!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions are always 100% honest and my own. The above pictures are from Getty Images. The below picture is from me listening to Mr. Rob Lowe himself as he answered questions from the audience.
This is so great that they are trying to get more people aware of this. Planning for the future is so important.
I love Rob Lowe and how great is it that he is helping to raise awareness for this. It’s definitley something that none of us like to think about, but it’s one of those necessary evils.
I love that they are making more people aware of this. Planning is so important and I love Rob Lowe
My husband and I are trying to set up care for when we are retirement age. It can be tough because there is a lot of conflicting information on what you should have ready for yourself. I’m glad to see the are trying to educate more people on planning for their future.
This is not something I have thought about for myself, however we have been discussing health care for my inlaws and there sure is a lot to research. I’m so glad you are taking the time to do your research and share with others. 🙂
Oh Rob! My husband and I need to take long-term planning a lot more seriously.
This is something I need to look into for my husband and I, but more importantly my mom and mother n law. It was so difficult with my great grandma and my great aunt w/o both lived into their mid 90’s.
Awwe Rob Lowe! Gotta love him. Great to see they are raising awareness for this.
I love Rob Lowe LOL! This is a great topic to raise awareness about.
What a wonderful tour. I have adored Rob Lowe since I was a kid. What a great guy. The closest one to me is Chicago, and thats still a bit of a drive. We are trying to get things in place for our future. I am going to be 39 this month and husband just turned 35. He has a 9 year old daughter. We’ve been together since she was 6! Seems like time just flies. So, I admit while we’ve both been in school most of the time we’ve been together, now that hes got his ‘career’ we really need to take financial planning a lot more seriously.
Sounds like a great event and a great message! Glad you were here and able to help spread the word!
Sounds like a great event…did you carry that massive mug home? 😉
Fabulous event! Definitely need to start planning for the future!
Communicating and planning are so important as we age. My hubby and I have opening shared our plans with our grown children. Hard topic but something that needs to be done.
Rob Lowe is one of my favorites, and I’m glad he is supporting this cause. These are important questions and answers to have!
Planning for the future is so important, but it’s often a tough subject to talk about. It nice the Rob Lowe was able to spread some awareness on the topic.
Oh Rob Lowe! He’s so handsome, and a great actor! This is super important and its great to see him involved! Sounds like a wonderful event!
Really good to see Rob raising awareness for this.It is very important to spend time planning for the future as best as we can but a lot of people do not bother myself included to be honest,I will spend more time sorting this out.
Planning for the future is so important. As a young widow and single mom, I’ve had no choice but to make choices to protect our future. Decisions most people may not thing about until they are older.
What an awesome event! I like that they are making more people aware of the need for planning and making it fun in the process.
Planning for the future is important and I love how Genworth makes that possible. That is pretty awesome that people got to walk inside a giant mug! Thanks for sharing.
Private long-term care insurance really is so important to have. It’s one of those ‘just-in-case’ moments you don’t want to have come up and not be prepared for it.
I’ve heard quite a buzz around Genworth for the last year or so. Good for them for soing such a good job getting the word out.
My husband and I have done quite a bit of saving and planning and hopefully we have it somewhat handled. It is great to know that there are companies out there like Genworth to help people plan for the future. I love Rob Lowe!
It is an important topic and discussion that needs to be had.And he’s still very good looking too!
I think the giant coffee mug is a great way to get people to stop and talk about something that is super important. It feels like they’re stopping for a chat over coffee and yet they’re leaving with information that can help them and they’re family down the line.
For starters, Rob Lowe looks gorgeous! Long term care is definitely a real issue these days and I’m glad it’s being brought to light.
I’m sorry…I completely had to pick my jaw off the ground when I saw Rob Lowe. Man, he looks amazing! This is a great issue being brought to life and definitely needs attention! We all are going to be there
we’re getting older so we are thinking more about the future. it’s a hard talk, we have lots to take care of though
It may not be fun to think about, but you really have no choice. You have to plan for those twilight years.
Holy crap, Rob Lowe looks beautiful!
This design is great! You certainly know how to keep a reader entertained.
Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Fantastic job.
I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that, how you
presented it. Too cool!