At what age should I buy long-term care insurance?

The sweet spot is generally your mid-50s to early 60s. Buy too early and you pay premiums for decades before you're likely to need care; wait too long and premiums climb steeply, or a health issue makes you uninsurable. By your late 50s you're old enough that the policy's window is closer but still young enough to qualify at reasonable rates and lock in a health class. The single biggest risk of waiting is medical: a diagnosis of diabetes, cognitive decline, or other conditions can disqualify you entirely, since LTC underwriting is strict. If long-term care is part of your plan, get quotes around 55, compare standalone versus hybrid policies, and don't drift past 65 hoping rates will improve — they won't. Factor the premium into your retirement budget and confirm it stays affordable, since traditional LTC carriers have raised rates on existing policyholders before.