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When they consider the potential threat of a disability
affecting their income, many baby boomers believe one thing but do another.
A new survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of America’s
Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) shows that almost half of boomers say
they do not have any disability income protection, even though most believe
that having disability insurance is important to protect their income.
Fifty-six percent of boomers say that disability income
insurance is important to protect their income should the primary wage earner
in their household become disabled and unable to work for an extended period of
time. Only nineteen percent said that disability insurance was not at all
important. However, only 52 percent of boomers say they have either short-term
or long-term disability insurance.
The survey also revealed that many boomers incorrectly
believe they have disability income protection. Forty-four percent say they
have long-term disability insurance provided through their employer or
purchased individually, but only 30 percent of workers in private industry have
long-term disability insurance coverage, according to the U.S. Department of
Labor.
Another disparity: 12 percent of boomers say they purchased long-term
disability coverage on their own, but insurance industry data show that there
are a little more than 3 million active individual disability insurance
policies, which accounts for only about 2 percent of U.S. workers.
All this leads to “a false sense of financial security
against the risk of disability” among boomers, observed Humphrey Taylor, chairman
of the Harris Poll.
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