A retirement income specialist in Parkland, Florida, is drawing attention to a coverage problem that affects millions of American families approaching retirement: the assumption that health insurance or Medicare will cover the cost of extended care.
The Risk That Most Retirement Plans Leave Out
Florida, USA, 15th May 2026, ZEX PR WIRE — Richard Donoff, Managing Partner at Sunshine Financial Partners and President of Richard Donoff & Associates, has spent more than 26 years working with retirees and pre-retirees in Southeast Florida. In that time, he has observed a consistent gap in how families approach retirement planning: they protect against market loss but leave long-term care exposure largely unaddressed.
The cost of extended care, whether for assisted living, memory care, or in-home nursing, can reach several thousand dollars per month and last for years. For families who have spent decades accumulating retirement assets, an unplanned care event can alter the financial picture entirely.
What Most People Do Not Know
Donoff notes that many pre-retirees assume long-term care coverage is unavailable to them, either because they have been declined elsewhere or because they believe the premiums are prohibitive. His work focuses on presenting the range of options that exist, including hybrid life and annuity products that provide care benefits without requiring separate long-term care premiums, and solutions that can be structured around an individual’s health history.
According to Donoff, clients who have been told no by other providers have often simply not been presented with the full landscape of available products.
A Practical Starting Point
For families approaching retirement, Donoff recommends beginning with a structured review of four questions: What is the projected cost of care in their state? What would an extended care event do to their current retirement income plan? Do they have an asset that could be repositioned to fund care benefits at little or no net cost? And what happens to their spouse or family if the primary earner requires care for three or more years?
These questions do not require a formal engagement to answer. They are a starting point for a conversation that most families delay until it is too late to structure solutions efficiently.
The Value of Early Action
The most effective long-term care strategies are built ten to fifteen years before care is likely to be needed. The further from retirement a client is when they put a plan in place, the wider the range of options available and the lower the cost to fund them. Waiting until coverage becomes urgent often means accepting limited terms or higher costs.
About Richard Donoff
Richard Donoff is Managing Partner at Sunshine Financial Partners and President of Richard Donoff & Associates, based in Parkland, Florida. He has worked in financial services for more than 26 years, with a focus on retirement income planning, long-term care strategies, Social Security optimization, and tax-efficient wealth transfer. He is known in the Southeast Florida market as The Safe Money Doctor. More information is available at richarddonoff.com.
Published On: May 15, 2026