This topic has been very much in the forefront of our thoughts lately. My mother moved to a CCRC in her early 70's and loved it. She had an efficiency apartment, lots of friends, activities and things to do, and lived in independent living for 11 years. The arrangement was excellent for her. She was in assisted living for only six months before she passed.
In contrast, DW's father (and DW's siblings) refused to face the realities of his advancing years and he stayed far to long in a home he could just barely afford to stay in. The only activities he had were church, the football team in season, and reading books. That was all he could afford because of the expenses of the house. I asked one SIL "Does he own the house or does the house own him?" and she had no response. And when he couldn't drive he was effectively a prisoner at home, the main social contact being DW.
When his health rapidly declined it was only by a huge ball of luck that we got him into a very good care facility and he is now shuttling back and forth between hospitals and the nursing home. There is not a shade of doubt in my mind that had he moved to the CCRC five years ago he would still be in independent living, or at least assisted living, instead of the ordeal he's going through now because staff would have picked up on the effects of diabetes and corrected it before it got out of hand.
So in the spring I want to start looking at CCRC's. We have no children, my siblings are far away, and the experiences of our respective parents has been an eye-opening awareness raiser. I am very sure that I want us to be in a CCRC no later than when I turn 70.
There are a lot of options, but the one I'm leaning toward is that you plunk down a large wad of cash, depending on the place, between $100k and $250k, (the ones with higher levels of luxury charge more, sometimes a lot more) and then you pay for routing ongoing expenses as they are incurred for an independent living apartment or single-level house. For example in one I've looked at (only online but we'll make a physical visit) has houses/cottages from one bedroom/one bath to two bedroom/two bath with den and one or two-car garages. The rent would be about $800/month and that includes all maintenance, interior and exterior. The entrance fee is prorated over a ten year period so if you moved out after five years you'd get half on that fee back.
But here's the biggie: If our resources are exhausted as may well happen if one gets dementia, they won't throw you out. In effect that huge wad of cash buys a LTC policy for both of you.
The downside of course, is this is a move we can only afford to do once which means the margin of error is zero. So we'll have an elderlaw attorney look over the contract, the finances of the organization, and probably other stuff I haven't thought of yet.
But the idea has an appeal to me.
In contrast, DW's father (and DW's siblings) refused to face the realities of his advancing years and he stayed far to long in a home he could just barely afford to stay in. The only activities he had were church, the football team in season, and reading books. That was all he could afford because of the expenses of the house. I asked one SIL "Does he own the house or does the house own him?" and she had no response. And when he couldn't drive he was effectively a prisoner at home, the main social contact being DW.
When his health rapidly declined it was only by a huge ball of luck that we got him into a very good care facility and he is now shuttling back and forth between hospitals and the nursing home. There is not a shade of doubt in my mind that had he moved to the CCRC five years ago he would still be in independent living, or at least assisted living, instead of the ordeal he's going through now because staff would have picked up on the effects of diabetes and corrected it before it got out of hand.
So in the spring I want to start looking at CCRC's. We have no children, my siblings are far away, and the experiences of our respective parents has been an eye-opening awareness raiser. I am very sure that I want us to be in a CCRC no later than when I turn 70.
There are a lot of options, but the one I'm leaning toward is that you plunk down a large wad of cash, depending on the place, between $100k and $250k, (the ones with higher levels of luxury charge more, sometimes a lot more) and then you pay for routing ongoing expenses as they are incurred for an independent living apartment or single-level house. For example in one I've looked at (only online but we'll make a physical visit) has houses/cottages from one bedroom/one bath to two bedroom/two bath with den and one or two-car garages. The rent would be about $800/month and that includes all maintenance, interior and exterior. The entrance fee is prorated over a ten year period so if you moved out after five years you'd get half on that fee back.
But here's the biggie: If our resources are exhausted as may well happen if one gets dementia, they won't throw you out. In effect that huge wad of cash buys a LTC policy for both of you.
The downside of course, is this is a move we can only afford to do once which means the margin of error is zero. So we'll have an elderlaw attorney look over the contract, the finances of the organization, and probably other stuff I haven't thought of yet.
But the idea has an appeal to me.
