Optimus Life Designs
LifeBridge LTC Visualizer
Complete User Guide — How the Tool Works

This guide covers every feature of the LifeBridge LTC Visualizer — what each input does, how each chart is calculated, and how to sequence the tool in a client meeting. Forward it to anyone presenting with the tool.

A — Overview
What This Tool Is

The LifeBridge LTC Visualizer is a two-act presentation tool designed to run live in a client meeting. No login, no install, no data sent anywhere — everything runs in the browser.

Act One — Problem Analysis: Shows the financial impact of a long-term care event on the client’s portfolio. Multiple scenarios layer on top of each other so clients see the full range of outcomes side by side — no event, one spouse, both spouses.

Act Two — LifeBridge Shield: Reveals the solution. The visual mode change signals a shift from “here’s how bad it gets” to “here’s what LifeBridge does about it.” Protected and unprotected portfolios appear side by side on a single chart.

The mode toggle lives in the top header bar. Switch between acts at any point during the meeting.

B — Client Setup
Client Profile

At the top of the left sidebar, select Client Type: Couple, Single Male, or Single Female. This controls which inputs and scenarios appear throughout the tool.

Age fields accept free-form typing. Click in, type any age between 45 and 85, and click away. The field validates and clamps on blur. For couples, Spouse 1 (orange) and Spouse 2 (blue) each have their own field.

Client Name is optional. If entered, it appears as a badge in the top-right corner of the tool header — a useful detail when presenting on screen.

C — Financial Picture
Portfolio & Income Inputs

Four inputs drive the core math. All four rebuild every chart in real time when changed.

Annual Growth Rate Slider, 3–10%. The assumed annual return on the investable portfolio. Use the advisor’s expected rate of return for the client’s current portfolio mix.
Total Investable Assets The starting portfolio value. Includes qualified (IRA, 401k) and non-qualified assets the client would draw from in retirement.
Guaranteed Monthly Income Social Security, pension, or any other income received regardless of portfolio performance. Subtracted from total income needed before calculating the portfolio draw.
Monthly Income Needed The client’s total monthly expense requirement in retirement. The gap between this and guaranteed income is what the portfolio must fund every year. The Annual portfolio draw strip below the inputs shows this gap — orange if positive, green if income is fully covered by guaranteed sources.
D — Care Event Assumptions
Tax Rate, LTC Age & Duration

Tax Rate on IRA Distributions (25%, 30%, 35%, or 40%) controls how much additional money the portfolio must distribute to net the LTC care costs. A client in a 30% bracket who needs $10,000/month for care requires the portfolio to actually distribute ~$14,300 to net $10,000 after tax. This gross-up is baked into every LTC calculation.

Spouse 1 LTC Event (orange): Two sliders — the age at which the claim begins (minimum is current age + 3, up to 99) and the duration of the claim in years (1–12). The scenario toggle label updates in real time as you adjust.

Spouse 2 LTC Event (blue): Same controls, same logic. For single clients, only one set of LTC sliders appears.

Fixed assumptions baked into the model: $10,000/month base care cost, 4% annual LTC cost inflation applied year over year.

E — Scenario Toggles
Show / Hide Scenarios

At the bottom of the sidebar, four toggle buttons control which lines appear on the portfolio chart. Any combination can be on or off simultaneously. This section only appears in Problem Analysis mode.

No LTC Event
The baseline. Portfolio grows at the set rate minus the income gap, with no LTC costs. Use this as the “best case” anchor before introducing any events.
Spouse 1 LTC Only
Models only the first spouse’s event at the configured age and duration. The income gap continues on top of the LTC draw.
Spouse 2 LTC Only
Models only the second spouse’s event independently. Useful for comparing individual risk before showing the combined scenario.
Both Spouses LTC
The worst case. Both events hit at the configured ages. This is often the line that depletes the portfolio entirely.
F — Portfolio Projection Chart
The Main Visualization

The large chart on the right shows every active scenario as a smooth line running from the client’s current age to age 100. Lines are color-matched to their scenario toggles.

Hover interaction: Move the cursor over the chart and a tooltip shows the exact portfolio value for every active scenario at that age simultaneously. The chart subtitle shows the income gap and tax rate in use.

Depletion: When a portfolio hits zero, the line flatlines at zero for the remainder of the projection. The corresponding stat card below the chart switches from a dollar value to “Depleted age X” displayed in red.

Projections run from the client’s current age to age 100. The legacy benchmark used in stat cards is age 95.

G — Cumulative LTC Spend Chart
The Running Total

This second chart appears automatically below the portfolio projection whenever at least one LTC scenario is active. It has a specific job: showing the client how the bill accumulates year over year, starting at $0 and growing to hundreds of thousands by the end of the claim window.

Solid colored line — Cumulative Care Cost: The raw LTC expense accumulated over time. $10,000/month inflated at 4%/year, compounding annually from claim start to claim end.

Gold dashed line — + Tax Gross-Up: The total amount the portfolio must actually distribute, including the extra tax dollars. A client in a 30% bracket needs to pull approximately $143 from an IRA to net $100 for care. The gap between the two lines is the invisible tax cost most clients never see.

This chart is most effective after toggling on Both Spouses. Let the number grow on screen without commentary — clients read it themselves.

H — Stat Cards
Quick Reference Numbers

Below the charts, one stat card appears per active scenario. Each card shows three numbers:

Portfolio value at age 95 — the headline number for that scenario at the benchmark age.

Estimated total LTC claim cost — the full dollar amount drawn from the portfolio over the claim period, inflated at 4%/year and grossed up for taxes.

Loss vs. no-event baseline — how much less the portfolio has at age 95 compared to the clean scenario. If the portfolio depletes before 95, the card shows “Depleted age X” in red instead of a dollar value, and the claim cost is displayed as the estimated total.

I — Insight Bar
Automatic Narrative Summary

Below the stat cards, a strip automatically generates a plain-English summary of the worst active scenario. It identifies whether the portfolio depletes and at what age, or how much is lost vs. the baseline if it survives. Useful as a talking point mid-presentation without needing to read numbers off a chart. Updates every time a scenario is toggled or an input is changed.

J — Breaking Point Stress Test
Finding the Depletion Threshold

At the bottom of the Problem Analysis panel, a “Run Analysis” button stress-tests the client’s portfolio against 16 scenarios at once — every combination of four LTC start ages (75, 80, 85, 90) and four claim durations (3, 5, 7, 10 years). For couples, both spouses are modeled simultaneously, with Spouse 2 starting 3 years after Spouse 1.

Results render as a grid. Reading it:

✓ Safe — survives to 100
Age 87 — depletes 85–90
Age 81 — depletes before 85

Use this grid to establish that depletion isn’t a fringe outcome. When multiple red cells appear with realistic ages and durations, the case for protection makes itself.

K — LifeBridge Shield View
The Solution Reveal

Click “🛡 LifeBridge Shield” in the top header to switch modes. The right panel transitions to a green-tinted layout with a shield banner at the top — a deliberate visual signal that the conversation has moved from problem to solution.

Est. Monthly Premium field appears in the sidebar. Enter the premium from a real LifeBridge illustration. The tool uses this to model the protected portfolio’s annual draw: income gap + premium each year, with zero LTC cost applied when a claim happens.

Protected line (green): Portfolio grows at the same rate and funds the same income gap, pays the premium each year, but absorbs no LTC draw during claims. The policy covers it entirely.

Unprotected line (red): The worst-case from Problem Analysis — both spouses with LTC events, full claim cost drawn from the portfolio at the tax rate entered.

Three stat cards: Protected portfolio at 95, Unprotected at 95, and Net Benefit — the dollar difference between the two at the benchmark age. The insight bar narrates this in plain English.

L — Presentation Flow
Recommended Order for a Client Meeting
1
Enter the client’s data before the meeting
Fill in age(s), assets, guaranteed income, income needed, growth rate, and tax rate. Set LTC ages and durations to something realistic for the client’s situation.
2
Start with No LTC Event only
Show the green baseline — the ideal scenario with no health events. Let the client see the best case first before introducing any events.
3
Toggle on Spouse 1 LTC
Show the first hit. The orange line drops below the green. The cumulative spend chart begins to build. Let the stat card do the talking.
4
Toggle on Both Spouses
Add the red line. The cumulative spend chart grows further. This is where the room typically goes quiet — the running total does the work without you narrating it.
5
Run the Stress Test
Click “Run Analysis.” Show the grid. Red cells with realistic ages and durations establish that depletion isn’t a worst-case fringe scenario — it’s a realistic combination many clients will face.
6
Switch to LifeBridge Shield
Click the shield toggle. The screen changes. The green layout signals the shift. You’re no longer in “here’s the problem” mode.
7
Dial in the real premium
Enter the monthly premium from the actual LifeBridge illustration. The net benefit stat card updates in real time. The gap between the green and red lines at age 95 is the number you leave them with.