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New Rule Lets Some Retirement Plans Help Pay Long-Term Care Insurance Premiums

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New Rule Lets Some Retirement Plans Help Pay Long-Term Care Insurance Premiums

A delayed SECURE 2.0 Tax Act provision gives certain workers and retirees a helpful way to use retirement savings: some defined contribution plans can allow distributions to be used to pay qualified long-term care insurance premiums without triggering the usual 10% early-withdrawal penalty. The rule applies to distributions made after December 29, 2025.

Defined contribution plans are those where the amount that can be contributed is limited by the tax code and include 401(k) plans, TSAs, retirement plans of self-employed people, and government retirement plans.

What this means for you

If you’re paying for qualified long-term care (LTC) insurance, this rule may let you use money from an existing retirement plan to help cover those premiums while avoiding the extra 10% tax that often applies to early (i.e., before age 59½) retirement withdrawals. That can make long-term care coverage more affordable, especially for older taxpayers who are trying to protect retirement savings and still keep needed coverage in place.

Who can use it?

This is not a general rule for all insurance premiums. It applies only when your retirement plan allows it and the money is used for premiums on a qualifying LTC insurance contract that meets the statute’s “high-quality coverage” requirements. The distribution is also limited to certain defined contribution plans.

How much can be taken out?

The annual distribution is limited to the smallest of these three amounts:

  • your actual long-term care premiums,

  • 10% of your vested account balance, or

  • $2,500, indexed for inflation.

For 2026, that indexed dollar limit is $2,600.

So even if your premiums are higher, or your retirement account is large, the amount you can use under this rule is capped.

Is it tax-free?

Not exactly. The main benefit is that the distribution is exempt from the 10% early-withdrawal penalty. But the amount is still generally included in your taxable income unless another rule applies. Also, this type of distribution is not treated like a rollover, so the usual rollover paperwork, direct rollover rules, notice rules, and mandatory withholding rules do not apply in the same way.

How this fits with the medical expense deduction

Long-term care premiums may also count as medical expenses, but only up to age-based annual limits. For 2026, the IRS inflation-adjusted limits are $500 for age 40 or under, $930 for ages 41 to 50, $1,860 for ages 51 to 60, $4,960 for ages 61 to 70, and $6,200 for age 71 or older.

That means older taxpayers may be able to include more of their premiums as medical expenses, but still only up to the annual cap.

When taxable retirement plan distributions are used to pay the LTC premiums, the premiums are deductible as a medical expense, as long as they otherwise qualify and are not limited by the annual cap.

Why this matters

This new rule may help you keep LTC insurance in force without having to pay the 10% penalty just to access retirement funds. That can be valuable if you are retired or near retirement and need a practical way to pay for coverage that protects you from future care costs.

Key takeaways for taxpayers

If you think this rule may help you, check these points:

  1. Does your retirement plan allow qualified long-term care premium distributions?

  2. Does your LTC policy meet the qualifying long-term care requirements?

  3. Is the amount within the annual limit?

  4. Will the distribution be taxable, even though it avoids the penalty?

  5. If you itemize, how much of the premium may still qualify as a medical expense deduction?

Bottom line

This is a narrow but useful planning tool. Starting with distributions made after December 29, 2025, it may let eligible taxpayers use retirement savings to pay qualified long-term care insurance premiums without the 10% early-distribution penalty. For the right taxpayer, that can ease cashflow and make long-term care coverage more manageable.

If you have questions related to how this tax provision might benefit you, contact this office.

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