Would you read a book with no romance, no adventure, no sex, no joy or sorrow if it could save you $1,000 per year over each of the next seven years?

Would you read a book that won’t make you slimmer, more youthful, stronger or more attractive or give you whiter teeth if, upon completion, you could save $2,000 or more a year over each of the next seven years? If so, have we got the must-read-summer of 2016 beach book for members of the federal family. Don’t let the title put you off. Ready?

The book is called “A Shopper’s Guide To Long-Term Care Insurance.” You can guess what it’s about! Not exactly Fifty Shades of Grey, but definitely more, uh, useful —  especially if you work for the Internal Revenue Service, Defense Department, or are a Park Ranger or Border Patrol officer or a scientist at the Centers for Disease Control, or the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Postal Service, the U.S. Supreme Court or the Office of Personnel Management. Or or any other federal agency.

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Premiums in the federal government’s LTC program, the largest in the nation, are going up for most. The increase averages 83 percent. That’s $111 per month. Some policyholders will see premiums go up 126 percent. The premium increase will take effect Nov. 1, unless you change your coverage in the federal LTC group plan. Or shop around among the few remaining companies — Genworth, John Hancock, Northwestern, NY Life and Mass Mutual. John Hancock has the federal group LTC program and will run it for the next seven years.

All of the above companies sell individual policies. Premiums vary. A lot. They are based on your age at time of purchase, benefits you select and duration of coverage. Lifetime coverage is naturally a lot more expensive than a policy that covers your expenses for three or five years. Inflation-protection, if you can get it, costs too. While you can and should shop around if you are a fed or retiree, it’s unlikely you will be able to get comparable coverage at the same premiums that you have now with the federal LTC group plan.

The NAIC_Shoppers_Guide is put out by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. That group includes the insurance commissioner in your home state. Here’s one item from it that shows likely costs (in 2013) for insurance:

If you buy the plan at age 50, four-years of benefits (coverage) then would cost an average of $4,349. For a lifetime benefit then the premium would be $7,347 in 2013. If you signed up at age 60 the same coverage (in 2013) would be $5,331 and $8,927 per year. Those are the average annual premiums for a basic plan with a $200 daily benefit and inflation protection.

Will reading the 70-plus booklet be fun? Probably not. Will it bring you up to speed on what LTC insurance is, and why most of us should have it? Very likely the answer is yes. Here it is.

Nearly Useless Factoid

By Michael O’Connell

In Shandong, China, 1,007 robots set a new world’s record for the number of robots dancing simultaneously. The event was part of the recent Qingdao Beer Festival.

Source: Quartz

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