There are an increasing number of retirement living options for seniors throughout the country. You’ve probably heard of assisted living facilities and nursing homes, but are you familiar with other types of retirement living options? When considering where you want to live now and in the future, it’s helpful to understand what your choices are. Below, you will find common types of retirement living options defined. You will also find a more detailed explanation of what you can expect from each housing environment, and the relative cost.
Aging in Place
Definition:
Aging in place is just as it sounds; you make a conscious choice to remain in your home as you age. This is often cited as a top choice for seniors.
How it Works:
The concept of aging in place is that rather than moving to another living environment, if and when your care needs increase, you alter the home environment to meet your needs. For example, if you were to need assistance with personal care (bathing, grooming) or light housekeeping in the future, the help is brought to you, in your home.
[Find out more about hiring at home care providers.]Additionally, if your mobility decreases, modifications would be made to the home to allow you to continue to function in your home environment. If you live in an elevator apartment building, it is less likely that you will need major modifications than if you live in a multi-story house. If you are aging in place in a multi-story house, you may need to eventually make modifications to allow you to access the different levels of your home. For example, if using the stairs becomes difficult, some people add a chairlift to the stairs. Other people opt to move their bedroom and “live” on the main floor, adding a full bathroom, if there isn’t one already there.
Cost:
The cost of aging in place is hard to determine in advance as no one knows what the state of their health will be in the future. The most significant costs related to aging in place are in-home care, the cost of housing itself and potential home modifications.
The cost of hiring home health aides who provide in-home care can add up quickly. In larger metropolitan areas, aides can cost anywhere from $20-25/ hour and up. Of course, if you have long-term care insurance, that can help cover the cost of care.
Additionally, some local and state governments may offer benefits to help off-set the care costs. For those with very limited income and assets, Medicaid may cover the cost of home health aides entirely. In some areas, you may be eligible for limited in-home care simply on the basis of being 60 or over. Every jurisdiction is different so it is important to check with your local office on aging to find out what benefits, if any, may be available to you. Note: contrary to popular belief, Medicare does not pay for ongoing in-home care.
Another expense related to aging in place is the cost of your home itself. If you own your home outright, you probably only need to pay taxes and the upkeep on your home. If you have a mortgage or pay rent monthly, that, of course, needs to be factored in to the overall cost of aging in place.
Additionally, if your mobility should become more limited in the future, the cost of modifying your home, to make it livable and safe, varies. If you only need to add standard grab bars to “high-risk” areas, like the bathroom, that can typically be done for relatively little cost. Similarly, a bathtub cut out, is a common modification that can often be done for little cost (usually $350-$2000).
A more significant modification some people choose to do, as mentioned above, is adding a bathroom to the main floor. The cost of adding a new bathroom (or modifying an existing half bathroom to include a shower) is hard to estimate as it depends on the cost of labor in your area and the age and layout of your home. Alternatively, some people add a chairlift to allow them to continue to access the different floors in their home. There are numerous chairlifts on the market touting different features; they typically cost between $1500-$8500. The modifications highlighted is not an exhaustive list, but rather some of the more common modification seniors pay to have done to their homes to make it safer as they age.
Independent Living
Definition:
At its core, independent living communities are communities where older, independent adults reside together, either in an apartment/condo building or in individual homes in a community. Typically, these communities offer opportunities to engage in recreation and meals together. They do not offer in-home care for residents, as people at this level of care are usually able to manage their own personal care. The extent of the services offered depends on the individual independent living community.
How it Works:
Independent living communities provide seniors who are able to function independently, but desire community, the opportunity to live with others their age. The minimum age for these communities is typically 55+, 60+, 62+ or even 65+ , depending on the community. Some independent living communities have a simple communal dining room, limited recreation activities and shuttle buses to the grocery store. Others feature much more extensive offerings, like those seen in Active Adult Retirement Communities with health clinics, multiple restaurants, stores, workout rooms and even golf courses on site.
Cost:
The cost of independent living varies according to where you live and the services offered in the community. It is hard to give specific prices for independent living because the cost depends on the overall cost of living in your desired area. Some communities offer rental units, while others have units for purchase. It also depends on how extensive the amenities that are offered in the community are. In an Active Adult Retirement Community, like Del Webb, the community is almost like its own city and you can expect to pay more. If you are looking for a basic apartment-like independent living building that offers little more than housing, the cost will be quite a bit less. Relative to other senior specific housing, independent living is usually on the more affordable end of the spectrum.
Assisted Living
Definition:
Assisted living is another popular retirement living option. With this type of set-up, in addition to housing, hands-on personal care and medication management are provided. Recreational activities, meals and transportation are also offered.
How it Works:
Typically, assisted living facilities offer residents assistance with care, like bathing, dressing, grooming and medication management. Most assisted living facilities also provide community benefits like meals, recreation and transportation and housekeeping.
Assisted living communities are often in apartment-style buildings. However, assisted living services provided in individual homes in a residential community, is becoming increasingly popular. Like their larger counterparts, assisted living in residential homes offers personal care assistance, medication administration, housekeeping and meals. Residential care homes usually have a limited number of residents, typically no more than eight; where traditional assisted living facilities have many, many more residents living there. For those who are more frail or generally less active, the smaller environment of residential care homes maybe preferable. For other people, the activities and level of engagement of a larger, traditional assisted living facility will be preferable.
Cost:
The cost of assisted living is relatively high. It can cost thousands of dollars a month, based on the size of the apartment and how much hands-on care is provided. Assisted living services in a residential home often costs less than that provided in a traditional assisted living environment.
For assisted living offered in a facility, there is usually tiered pricing. That means that there is a base price to live there and then additional fees are tacked on depending on how much personal care (bathing, dressing, grooming, etc.) you need help with. As is the case with other types of senior housing, the cost for assisted living, also depends in part on the general cost of living in your area.
Sometimes long-term care insurance will help pay for the cost of assisted living. There may also be some subsidized assisted living facilities in your area (again check with your local office on aging). Additionally, some residential care home will accept long-term care Medicaid after you have paid privately for a period of time.
Nursing Home
Definition:
A nursing home provides services to those who have extensive physical or cognitive needs, in an institution-like setting.
How it Works:
Typically, nursing homes have nurses on the premises 24 hours a day, along with nursing assistants to provide hands-on personal care. Doctors oversee residents’ care, checking in on patients at regular intervals and when needed.
Cost:
Nursing homes are usually very expensive. It is not unusual for costs to run $10,000/month or more a month. For those who cannot afford this, Medicaid makes up the difference in the cost of care. The way this works is that your monthly income from Social Security and others sources would be paid directly to the nursing home and then Medicaid would cover the difference. You would be left with a modest monthly stipend (less than $100) to cover incidentals.
Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC)
Definition:
A continuing care retirement community (CCRC) is retirement living option that encompasses all different levels of care –independent living, assisted living and nursing home — within the same community.
How it Works:
With a CCRC, if your health declines and your care needs increase, you don’t need to move to a new community. Rather, you just move to the next level of care within the CCRC community. For instance, you may enter the CCRC while you are totally independent. If you eventually need more assistance completing your personal care or your health significantly declines, you will move to the either assisted living or nursing home, depending on your needs. Many people enjoy the convenience of a CCRC and the assurance of knowing where they will be living, whatever their eventual health and care needs are.
Cost:
The costs of continuing care retirement communities vary greatly. This is often the most expensive housing option as most CCRCs require a large upfront fee and then additional monthly fees. Entrance fees can range anywhere from $100,000 to $1 million dollars and the monthly fees to cover personal care needs can be thousands of dollars.
There it is, the most common retirement living options for seniors. It can be overwhelming to think about moving or what you may want for housing in the future. However, the longer you wait, the more expensive your choices sometimes become and the fewer options you have. Even if you are not ready for a different type of housing now, it can be helpful (and give you a sense of confidence about the future) if you investigate where you may want to live in the future.
