The Center for Retirement Research reported that 64% of pre-retirees are at risk of not having enough money saved to maintain their current lifestyles. That means that 2 in 3 retirees will have to reduce their standards of living in retirement.

If no major medical issues arise, it may not be so bad. But we are living longer, and with that comes an increased chance of needing some sort of long term care. Unfortunately, most couples are not financially prepared for paying that type of expense out of pocket. Here are four reasons to consider buying long term care insurance:

It is easier to buy it when you are young

It may be hard to try to justify the expenses when we are in our 40s and 50s and nothing is wrong. But we must consider that we may not be able to buy it if we wait too long.

Our health is better when we are younger. According to the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance, about 70% of applicants ages 45 to 54 are accepted. However, acceptance drops to less than 40% for applicants between the ages of 65 and 74.

There is also a big jump in the cost as we get older. The annual cost of a policy for a 65 year old is double that of the cost for a 55 year old.

You never know if you will actually need it

We all think we will be healthy and never find ourselves in a long term care facility. But how realistic is that? Studies show that almost half of us will need some form of long term care during our lives.

Those odds are much greater than the chances of being in a car accident or losing our home in a fire. Yet, most of us have car insurance and a homeowner’s policy.

A stroke can trigger long term care benefits. According to the American Stroke Association, a stroke is a leading cause of serious, long term disability. About one-third of stroke victims are permanently disabled.

What is more startling is that almost one third of stroke victims are under the age of 65. That means that this group of individuals was not able to finish funding their retirement accounts before they were taken out of the workforce.

Your family may not be able to help

The average cost of long term care is about $75,000 per year. Statistics show that one in five of us will need care for at least one year. About 3% of us will need care for more than five years.

The American Association for Long Term Care Insurance was found that the average Alzheimer’s patient needs care for eight years.

Even if you bought a policy that costs $100 per month, your total lifetime out-of-pocket expense for the policy is less than the cost for one year of long term care. Which financial risk would you rather take?

Let’s also consider this from a physical care standpoint. Many of us assume that our family members will take care of us when the need arises. However, can we really expect our spouse or children to give up their careers and sacrifice time with their families to take care of us full time?

Will our spouses even outlive us, let alone be physically capable of caring for us? Would they be able to lift us, if necessary, to move us or to bathe us?

Will our children relocate themselves and their families to be available to us full time? What impact would that have on them financially?

What about government assistance?

Medicare will not pay for long term care. Certain types of health care may be covered, if you qualify, but long term care would still be necessary to help with basic supportive services for activities of daily living, such as dressing and bathing.

There are resources available through Medicaid, but you will need to be able to qualify. This means you have low income and few assets. You may also be limited to selecting from a few providers.

Long term care insurance is designed to ensure that you are able to have access to adequate assistance during years where you are less able to care for yourself. When considering the options, it may be a small price to pay to have more control over your care in those most critical times.