To determine the effect of consumers’ numeric abilities on the likelihood of owning private long‐term care insurance.
The 2010 wave of the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative survey of Americans age 50 and older, was used ( = 12,796).
Multivariate logistic regression was used to isolate the relationship between numeracy and long‐term care insurance ownership.
Each additional question answered correctly on a numeracy scale was associated with a 13 percent increase in the likelihood of holding , after controlling for predictors of policy demand, education, and cognitive function.
Poor numeracy may create barriers to long‐term care insurance purchase. Policy efforts aimed at increasing consumer decision support or restructuring the marketplace for long‐term care insurance may be needed to increase older adults' ability to prepare for future long‐term care expenses.
