How long will your savings last and does it account for Assisted Living?

[tmm99]

Is there a website or something that tells us which state looks at joint assets and which state doesn't for figuring out medicaid eligibility?

[Walt34]

This is one of the reasons we're looking very hard, and probably will, move to a CCRC by the time I'm 70, give or take a bit. Understand a CCRC does not mean assisted living or a nursing home. It only means that those services are available if needed.

Many won't even accept you (except on a space-available basis) if you aren't capable of independent living at the time of moving in. What we want is a SF house and other than some downsizing don't expect or want our lifestyle to change. Maintenance issues go away - the rent covers that. For DW, that is very, very good.

My mother, then 73 moved to an independent living setting in a CCRC for 11 years and was very happy with it and wished she had made the move sooner. Six months with assisted living was okay. She never moved to the nursing section but it was good to know it was available.

FIL did not want to face the reality that he would not be able to live on his own. Only by being very lucky with timing were we able to get him into a very good care facility. I will not count on being that lucky again.

We're not concerned with leaving an inheritance so basically swapping the house equity for the entrance fee gets us into a position that is financially sustainable even if the worst happens and one is in full nursing care for years. With the low rent even if resources were exhausted for nursing care the amount available to the "able" spouse by Medicaid would allow them a comfortable, albeit not luxurious, standard of living.

All part of "hope for the best, prepare for the worst".

[imoldernu]

Quote:

thank you Imoldernu for a very informative response. I have a couple of very basic questions.

Good questions... will do my best, but can't guarantee the answers.

1. What is the youngest age you would move into a continues care facility as you describe in your note.

I won't give advice or suggest,... depends on circumstances. We did it at age 67, (regular home... Villa) but were still Florida snowbirds. The reason we bought was to have some substantial equity in a home that we could keep, if one partner had to go into a nursing home and that exhausted our assets... the remaining spouse could stay in the home and use it as an asset if the nursing home partner passed away... simple as that. Our Florida residence was worth about $25... the CCRC villa, closer to $200K.

For us, apartment..2BR,2BA. w/all utilities, 2 meals a day, free transportation as needed annual $24K, with second person, $30K
Assisted living about $44K plus needed extras.
Nursing Home $75 to $85K double or single...


2. What would be the approximate entry cost, monthly cost as you enter and what would be the approximate higher cost when you move into assistant living or need nursing care.

This varies all over the lot. In our community, no entry cost. In the Apartments a $1500 refundable fee, plus ability to live independently. Other communities (not ours) as much as $250K or more... with a refund at death of resident, based on # of years of residence.
Our Assisted Living and Nursing Home also has no upfront large fee, though they do an asset review to insure that the "can't kick out the indigent" rules are being followed. (It's medicare iapproved) The $$$ number is one of the reasons that it it so important to actually visit a facility and talk to a representative. I know of no website or central info service that provides this info.

3. what type of net worth do they require before you move in so that they are assured you can pay when you need additional help?

comment above applies... I don't know. Not stated in our community.

4. Is there any type of government assistance if you run out of money as you age and need the most care?

Most important is medicare/medicaid approved. Not all communities are.

5. Are there non profits that run these facilities that are possibly a bit kinder to old folks as they age?

Can't answer that. DW worked in one of these, years ago, and it was a great home, but they have closed due to costs. I know of none, except for a few religious communities and in particular a Salvation Army community in Florida for retired officers. A neighbor was a Catholic nun, and up until this year they had a retirement complex in Indiana, but as of this year it is in the process of closing to new residents.

6. Rate your satisfaction with your lifestyle on a 1 to 10 basis, 1 being you're unhappy, 10 being your satisfied that you made a good decision.

It was good for us... Yeah, a 10... except for the medicaid protection part, a little sooner than we planned, but since we still have other alternatives... Florida and our campground in Illinois, we are not totally rooted here.

I understand that as long as I have no vested interests in the communities we live in, that I can post the websites...

FWIW...
http://www.simplythefinest.net/

http://woodhavenassociation.com/

http://www.lakegriffinharborfla.com/
read the newsletter to get a feel for the activities in an active over 55 community.

and more details on this forum, here:
http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ml#post1214041

[seraphim]

Since we have pensions and draw very little from investments ( actually need withdraw none, were we more frugal), FireCalc suggests our nest egg might grow - on average - about 3x it's current value during our expected lifetime. So rather than start paying about $700 a month for LTC for 30 or so years, we chose to self insure. That's $8400 less a year for us to withdraw and build value.

MIL went into an apartment that had assisted and nursing card - an Alzheimer's unit. She went in to unassisted living, and prepaid $60k into a fund at the center. That guaranteed she could never be kicked out should her income fail. After two years in her apartment, she went to the Alzheimer's unit for about a year and a half. The AZ unit was about $6k a month. She passed away two years ago at the age of 85.

One thing to take into account, IMO, is family history. My father lived to 72. The women in DWs family lived as long as 104. I don't expect to use LTC. DW assuredly will.