Most people are aware of the benefits of saving for retirement, or even setting up a meeting with an estate planning attorney. But what about unexpected emergencies like critical illness? Costly medical bills, the need to provide financial security for any surviving family members and the costs associated with home care and hospitalization can be devastating.

That’s why many individuals approaching retirement age are thinking not just about how to support themselves in retirement, but also about the benefits associated with long term care insurance plans or other planning strategies. Most people expect that Medicaid will kick in immediately if they are involved in a long-term care event warranting hospital or nursing home care. In order to qualify for Medicaid, however, you must have limited resources and assets.

Not all individuals will be able to qualify for this. An increasingly long term care events are happening to individuals who are young and otherwise healthy before an accident happens. Long term care events are not isolated to individuals who are classified as elderly. A long term care event can happen to anyone. For example, imagine that you have been injured in a serious car accident and you need to take a month or even three months off of work to recover in a facility with intensive care.

Even with health insurance, the costs of going through this process can be catastrophic and it can change your life in big ways. Make sure you think about the benefits of planning for emergencies like disability or accidents in addition to all of you long term planning goals.