The Long Term Care is a type of insurance plan which you may need if you can no longer perform daily activities by yourself, such as bathing, eating or getting dressed. It also involves the kind of care if you had some serious disease like Alzheimer's disease.

The Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) started in January 2003.

It provides long term care insurance for its enrollees, who are U.S. Postal Service and Federal employees and recipients, active as well as retired members of the uniformed services, and their qualified relatives.

This insurance is offered to provide an alternative for long term care if an employee is not able to care of him/herself. It provides long term care insurance to help pay for costs of care when people need help with their day-to-day activities.

Over 20 million members of the Federal Family can apply for the insurance offered in FLTCIP. This care includes nursing home care, formal and informal in-home care, assisted living facility care, and hospital care. This insurance is available to Federal employees, current spouses, annuitants, adult children, in-laws, parents, and step-parents of living employees.

Through FLTCIP, employees get an opportunity to design their own long term care insurance plan. It is administered by Long Term Care Partners. It does not offer certain discounts available from individual policies sold by insurance agents. The program is underwritten by John Hancock Life & Health Insurance Company under a contract with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Most Federal as well as U.S. Postal Service employees, annuitants, retired and active members of the uniformed services, their qualified relatives are eligible to apply for insurance coverage under the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program.

Thus, long term care insurance is a smart way to protect your assets and income and remain financially independent.