Lumos Immediate Care PlanCare doesn't wait for the right moment. Neither should the money.
When someone already needs paid care, the usual retirement math stops working. The Immediate Care Plan turns one lump sum into guaranteed monthly income built around one person's actual health — so the care is funded for life, and the rest of the family's money stays where it belongs.
Every month, the same quiet question: how long can we keep this up?
The problem
There's the cost of care. There's the income. And there's what's left over.
Assisted living, memory care, in-home aides — formal care carries a monthly price tag that arrives whether or not the money is ready.
Social Security, a pension, an annuity, rental income. Real money — but usually not all of it.
The difference between the two is the Care Gap. It is not a one-time bill. It arrives again next month, and the month after that.
Nobody knows how long that will be. That uncertainty — not the monthly number — is what keeps families awake.
Illustrative figures, shown to explain the concept. Every family's numbers are different.
The gap doesn't negotiate. How you fund it is still your choice.
When care is already needed
The planning rules quietly change the day care begins.
Traditional retirement income products are built on assumptions that no longer apply. Four of them break at once.
Life expectancy is no longer "average"
A real diagnosis and real care needs create circumstances that differ sharply from the population statistics traditional products are priced on.
Families need certainty
Guaranteed lifetime income removes the risk of outliving assets, and makes care funding consistent and predictable.
Capital efficiency matters
Every dollar not committed to the premium stays available for quality of care, legacy planning and the family members still to come.
Rate timing shouldn't decide
The need for care doesn't wait for favourable markets. Pricing should follow medical reality, not the cycle.
So the price of care should start with the person who needs it.
Not with a table of averages drawn from people who don't share their diagnosis.
Built on a proven structure
A standard annuity prices the crowd.
A single premium immediate annuity is a good retirement tool. It converts a lump sum into income for life — priced on age, gender, location and interest rates.
What it generally does not consider is medical detail. It assumes an average life expectancy, drawn from a population.
But the person who needs care today is not standing in the middle of that population. Pricing them as if they were can tie up far more capital than necessary.
What makes the ICP different
The difference is underwriting.
The Immediate Care Plan is fully underwritten. Instead of a model, Lumos looks at the person — which allows a more accurate view of life expectancy, more precise pricing, and potentially a much lower premium for the same monthly income.
Single premium immediate annuity
Priced on a model, not on you
Medical details are generally not considered. Average life expectancy is assumed.
Lumos Immediate Care Plan
Fully underwritten on this person
Pricing driven by underwriting expertise — not just interest rates.
Medical records
A full review of health history and current conditions.
Diagnosis
Detailed evaluation of specific diagnoses and prognosis.
Functional ability
Assessment of activities of daily living and mobility.
Caregiver interview
A 30-minute call with the person providing day-to-day care.
Two ways to buy the very same $3,000 a month.
One family's numbers
Maggie, 70, Illinois.
She and Pete built a business, sold it, and retired early. Then came the diagnosis, and the assisted living community. Her care gap: $3,000 a month. Outside the family home, they had $425,000.
To buy $3,000 a month for life, a standard single premium immediate annuity would have required $442,000 — more than every dollar they had.
Fully underwritten on Maggie's own medical profile, the Immediate Care Plan funded the identical income for $140,205.
Which left $284,795 — invested on behalf of the beneficiaries. Care funded for life. The family's wealth protected.
Same income. $301,795 less capital committed.
Illustrative case study. Actual premium and income depend on individual underwriting.
Care funded for life. The rest of it, still theirs.
What actually happens
Four steps, and the first payment lands within a month.
Size the gap
Care costs minus the income already coming in. That monthly shortfall is what the plan is built to cover.
Underwrite the person
Medical history, diagnoses, falls and hospitalisations, current living situation, and a 30-minute call with the primary caregiver.
Place one premium
A single lump sum from savings, a qualified rollover or a 1035 exchange — $50,000 to $1,000,000.
Income begins
Guaranteed monthly payments for the annuitant's life, starting within one month.
The reason any of this matters
Knowing the care is paid for — for as long as it's needed.
Not paid for until the money runs out. Not paid for if the market cooperates. Paid for, every month, for life — while as much capital as possible stays with the family for everything else.
Plan at a glance
The specifics.
Cost of Living Adjustment
Choose an annual increase between 1% and 8%, compounding each contract anniversary. At 3%, payments roughly double after 24 years.
Enhanced Death Benefit
Life income with a certain period of 1 to 5 years, returning unpaid guaranteed payments to beneficiaries.
Early Death Benefit — % of premium, less income already received
Adding optional riders may affect the starting monthly payment. Underwriting considers both health factors and any riders selected.
In plain language
What the Immediate Care Plan is
The Lumos Immediate Care Plan is a medically underwritten single premium immediate annuity for people who already need paid care. In the United Kingdom this kind of product is usually called an immediate needs annuity; in the United States it is sometimes described as a care annuity or an underwritten payout annuity. Whatever the label, the mechanism is the same: a single lump sum is exchanged for a guaranteed monthly income that continues for the rest of the annuitant's life.
What separates it from an ordinary single premium immediate annuity is underwriting. Ordinary annuities are priced on population averages. When someone is already living with a serious diagnosis, that average no longer describes them, and pricing on it can tie up far more capital than the situation requires. By underwriting the individual — their medical records, their diagnosis, their ability to perform activities of daily living, and a conversation with the person providing their day-to-day care — the Immediate Care Plan can fund the same monthly income for a smaller premium, leaving more of the family's assets intact.
Immediate Care Plan: common questions
What is the Lumos Immediate Care Plan?
The Lumos Immediate Care Plan (ICP) is a medically underwritten single premium immediate annuity — the type of product also known as an immediate needs annuity or care annuity. You place one lump sum with Lumos, and it pays a guaranteed monthly income for the rest of the annuitant's life, designed specifically to fund the cost of care. Payments begin within one month.
Who is the Immediate Care Plan designed for?
People aged 70 to 95 who already need paid care, or are about to, and who are funding that care from their own assets. It is usually arranged by a family member or a financial professional on behalf of someone living in assisted living, in memory care, or receiving care at home.
How is it different from a regular single premium immediate annuity?
A standard single premium immediate annuity is priced on age, gender, location and interest rates, and assumes an average life expectancy. The Immediate Care Plan is fully medically underwritten: Lumos reviews medical records, diagnoses, functional ability and speaks with the primary caregiver. Pricing reflects that individual's real circumstances rather than a population average, which can mean a materially lower premium for the same monthly income.
How much does an Immediate Care Plan cost?
The single premium starts at $50,000 and goes up to $1,000,000 without further approval. The premium required depends on the monthly income needed and the outcome of medical underwriting. Figures shown on this page are illustrative — an actual premium requires an application.
How quickly do the payments start?
Within one month of the contract starting. That is what makes the plan immediate: it is built for care that is already being paid for, not care that might be needed years from now.
Can the monthly income keep up with rising care costs?
Optionally, yes. You can add a Cost of Living Adjustment of between 1% and 8%, compounding on each contract anniversary. With a 3% adjustment, payments would approximately double after 24 years. Adding optional riders may affect the starting monthly payment.
What happens if the annuitant dies shortly after the plan starts?
Every Immediate Care Plan includes an Early Death Benefit covering the opening months, paying a percentage of the premium less any income already received: 100% in month one, 50% in months two and three, 25% in months four to six, and none from month seven onward. An optional Enhanced Death Benefit extends protection through a certain period of one to five years.
Can it be used to pay for assisted living, memory care or home care?
Yes. The income is intended to cover ongoing care expenses, whether that is an assisted living community, a memory care unit, a nursing home, or care delivered at home. It is often used to close the shortfall between existing income and the monthly cost of care.
Can the premium come from an IRA or an existing annuity?
The single premium can be funded from savings, a qualified rollover, or a non-qualified 1035 exchange. A financial professional can advise which source makes sense given the annuitant's tax position.
How do I apply for an Immediate Care Plan?
Applications are made through a financial professional and cover both financial and medical questions. Lumos also arranges a 30-minute call with the primary caregiver, and the application is considered incomplete without their contact details. Ask for the underwriting preparation guide, which lists everything to gather before you begin.
Start the conversation
Bring the numbers. We'll show you what's possible.
One short conversation tells you the monthly gap, what a plan would cost, and how much capital stays with the family. Bring the care costs, the income already coming in, and what you know about the medical picture.
Prefer to prepare first? Ask for the underwriting preparation guide — it lists everything to gather before you apply.
All figures on this page are illustrative and are used to explain how the product works. They are not a quote, an offer of coverage, a coverage determination or an underwriting decision, and they are not tax or legal advice. Actual premium, income and eligibility depend on individual underwriting. Guarantees are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Product availability and features vary by state.