Contemplating when to get serious about CCRC?

[harllee]

For those of you even remotely considering a CCRC in the future I suggest you visit some now and get your name on the waiting list for the one you like best even if you do not have a present intention to move into a CCRC. The waiting list deposit is normally small (my deposit was $1000). In my area there are 4 CCRCs and all have waiting lists of about 10 years. Getting on the waiting list when you are in your 60s will get you some flexibility when you are in your 70s. The worst thing would be to decide in your 70s you want to go into a CCRC and find out its is too late to get on the waiting list.

[LARS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harllee For those of you even remotely considering a CCRC in the future I suggest you visit some now and get your name on the waiting list for the one you like best even if you do not have a present intention to move into a CCRC. The waiting list deposit is normally small (my deposit was $1000). In my area there are 4 CCRCs and all have waiting lists of about 10 years. Getting on the waiting list when you are in your 60s will get you some flexibility when you are in your 70s. The worst thing would be to decide in your 70s you want to go into a CCRC and find out its is too late to get on the waiting list.

Well that is a cold bucket of water… but no doubt good advice.

[Walt34]

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Originally Posted by LARS Well that is a cold bucket of water… but no doubt good advice.

That was our experience too when looking for a place for FIL. Years-long waiting lists are the norm, not the exception. We were very lucky because a sought-after place had just opened a new 10-story building that wiped out their waiting list and they only had about three openings left. Those were gone within a week.

The apartment FIL was going to have was one floor higher than the building's backup generator, looking over it, and I initially commented that would be very noisy during the weekly test run, and of course during any outages. DW then reminded me of FIL's hearing loss - all he needed to do was remove his hearing aids and the "problem" was solved.

[Elite59]

I assume you are talking about some kind of retirement home or convalescent hospital? What exactly do the initials CCRC stand for?

[LARS]

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Originally Posted by Elite59 I assume you are talking about some kind of retirement home or convalescent hospital? What exact does the initials CCRC stand for?

CCRC…. Continuing Care Retirement Communities.

AARP overview:

https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/basi...mmunities.html

[Gearhead Jim]

We had friends in Florida who looked into and eventually moved into Shell Point, a CCRC near Ft Myers. We went to two of the presentations, one for anyone and one for just our friends. This was about 8-10 years ago.
It looked very good, if you like being around old people.
It was run by a church-affiliated non-profit and did not allow any alcohol in the dining rooms or public areas, only inside your unit. That was only a minor issue for us.
The cost varied with different units and other options, but seemed astronomically high for what you got. We have long term care insurance and they gave us some reduction for that, but not a lot. We took a pass on that.

An unmarried acquaintance of ours was in the real estate business for many years and worked with several CCRCs. He thinks he should be getting into one at about his age (70s), bur instead just moved from a small house into a condo. Hmmm...

[harllee]

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Originally Posted by Gearhead Jim We had friends in Florida who looked into and eventually moved into Shell Point, a CCRC near Ft Myers. We went to two of the presentations, one for anyone and one for just our friends. This was about 8-10 years ago. It looked very good, if you like being around old people. It was run by a church-affiliated non-profit and did not allow any alcohol in the dining rooms or public areas, only inside your unit. That was only a minor issue for us. The cost varied with different units and other options, but seemed astronomically high for what you got. We have long term care insurance and they gave us some reduction for that, but not a lot. We took a pass on that. An unmarried acquaintance of ours was in the real estate business for many years and worked with several CCRCs. He thinks he should be getting into one at about his age (70s), bur instead just moved from a small house into a condo. Hmmm...

Interesting about the no alcohol rule. The CCRC where we plan to move is a nonprofit but not owned by a Church and alcohol is allowed and served in the dining rooms (they have 4) , in fact they have cocktail hour every Friday. My mom lives in a church owned CCRC and alcohol is served there too. Regarding the quip about "old people", we all will be "old people" if we live long enough! Most old people I know are very interesting to be around.

[LARS]

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Originally Posted by harllee Regarding the quip about "old people", we all will be "old people" if we live long enough! Most old people I know are very interesting to be around.

Notwithstanding what you say is absolutely true, I cannot help think of Groucho Marx in this regard… (to wit: any club that would have me I wouldn’t want to join so to speak).

[aja8888]

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Originally Posted by harllee Regarding the quip about "old people", we all will be "old people" if we live long enough! Most old people I know are very interesting to be around.

I went to a neighbor's 70th birthday party yesterday afternoon about 3:00 PM. His wife threw the party (surprise one) for him as he just got back from a week long dirt biking trip in the mountains of Utah with his biking club. There's still a lot of older people having fun these days and not heading into a CRCC until someone forces them into it, or a medical condition makes it necessary.

Now my golfing partner that suffered a stroke two weeks ago at the age of 86 is headed into an assisted living facility next week, but he wouldn't be going otherwise.

[harllee]

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Originally Posted by aja8888 I went to a neighbor's 70th birthday party yesterday afternoon about 3:00 PM. His wife threw the party (surprise one) for him as he just got back from a week long dirt biking trip in the mountains of Utah with his biking club. There's still a lot of older people having fun these days and not heading into a CRCC until someone forces them into it, or a medical condition makes it necessary. Now my golfing partner that suffered a stroke two weeks ago at the age of 86 is headed into an assisted living facility next week, but he wouldn't be going otherwise.

Many of my 70 something friends who live in CCRCs are still very active--I don't know about dirt biking but they have golf outings, ski outings, hiking, dancing, a running club, traveling, etc. The fact that you move into a CCRC does not mean you quit having fun. In fact one of the things we are looking forward to in moving into a CCRC is being able to do all the activities and trips.

[aja8888]

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Originally Posted by harllee Many of my 70 something friends who live in CCRCs are still very active--I don't know about dirt biking but they have golf outings, ski outings, hiking, dancing, a running club, traveling, etc. The fact that you move into a CCRC does not mean you quit having fun. In fact one of the things we are looking forward to in moving into a CCRC is being able to do all the activities and trips.

I'm glad to hear that. I think my general impression about those places is it's seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and getting ready for the worst. I have no experience with a CCRC so I am sure my view is narrow.

We moved into a 55+ community of 427 homes 7 years ago as we need a single level house as DW couldn't handle stairs anymore (she has advanced COPD). I am very active and do anything I want still. DW is pushing a walker around the house. But this place is such a disappointment for me as there are so few men who can (or want to) play golf or do anything of a physical nature. I just lost my weekly golf partner to a stroke and he is 85 who is the only male friend I have in this place that has any interest in golf.

I also try to walk 10,000 steps per day and have found no males in this neighborhood who have any interest in that sort of thing. I usually walk with the dog, myself, or with one of the women in the neighborhood who are out there every day.

My circle of friends are all over 70 and none (except above stroke victim) are living in this community. They are all friends I had from the area where my last house was located so I leave here every day to meet with them and we play golf once a wek, go for day trips, or just hang out. Realistically, all of my older friends are not planning (yet) on a CCRC or other aged living facility as of now.

[Car-Guy]

I've given this some thought, more so recently... No options I like but most I HATE! So, when the time comes, (not that far away) our basic plan is to move to a small city and rent a nice house (by then I won't want to maintain my own house) in order to be closer to medical, stores, services, etc.... Then I'll probably either hire a part time or full time maid to cook and kept the place clean. Money isn't an issue.


That will become my last stop. Or as we would say back in the old computer programing days.... EOJ.....

[2tswhite]

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Originally Posted by RobbieB Yeah, me too. Just what I want to do when I'm 80 years old. Sell the house, buy another one and pack up my stuff and move? Nah, I'll just live (and die) in place -

My 90 year old Dad would agree with you. No CCRC for him - he has informed me

[BigRedHusker]

I'm now 72 and don't think I have been living under a rock. I had no idea what CCRC was suppose to mean. I of course googled it and first thing that comes up is Child Care Resource Center. I did not figure that was what was being discussed. Further investigation brought me to Continuing Care Retirement Communities. aha

[nwsteve]

There are a number of CCRC threads here on the ER Forum as well as a "sticky thread". Since there appears to be some newcomers posting, let's refresh the CCRC foundations info by mentioning that all CCRCs are not created equal. In fact, there are three distinct types-A-C. Only Type A offers life care at a locked-in cost of your original Independent Living entry cost. Yes, your monthly fee will continue to increase, usually at a rate near inflation. By locked-in cost, I mean should you no longer be able to live independently and have to have more care due to memory or any other impairment requiring Asst Living or Skill Nursing, you do not pay more. Even your monthly fee is now caped by your original fee structure.
A move to Asst Living, at Market rates is at least double your Independent Living cost if you are not in a Type A property.
At our Tyoe A property, one spouse can move to Skilled Nursing/Assisted Living services while the other can stay in their original unit at no cost increase despite living in two different units.
Part of our motivation for taking the CCRC path was to be in charge of where we would be living our final years and not dependent on DD having to choose "where to PUT" mom and dad. There are many other reasoning including lock and leave flexibility, security, exposure and a connectness to lots of really smart people,
The variations in CCRC offerings and contracts are so varying, IMHO it is not practical to prescribe a CCRC for anyone but yourselves.

[lem1955]

My parents had just come up on the wait list to move to a CCRC. My mother died from cancer at 85 before they were able to move. My father (87) spent the next 6 months grieving and then deciding to go to the CCRC on his own. He was lonely, tired of cooking and caring for his one story household needs on his own. At 91, he is very happy in his apartment at the CCRC. He has his mental faculties but his body is frailer all the time. He has fallen a few times and gets immediate help from the emergency wrist band he wears - staff comes right up if he pushes the button. He has lots of friends - mostly women! Plays bridge and has dinner with others most nights a week. I live 1000 miles away and it gives me confidence he is happy and cared for. My DW (who is 9.5 years older than me) and I will move to a CCRC when she is 80-82. It will be a little too early for me, but I'm thinking of it as a new adventure to be in a city as opposed to a rural area. We will get signed up early next year.

[Al in Ohio]

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Originally Posted by Ramen The ones near me look like resorts with indoor and outdoor amenities, lush grounds, scheduled activities, three nice meals a day, housecleaning, even for independent living -- all for one monthly rental change ranging from about $3K to $4K for a single person. Some have entrance fees but not all. No need to buy a condo or townhouse. Seems like a sweet deal. Originally I started scouting them for my 80+ parents, but now I'm wondering if I should go ahead move in when I'm 55 in a year and a half. Anyone done this so young?

That’s when my wife and I started thinking about it. We would be younger than almost anyone else there however. Now we are thinking of moving to a single level courtyard home in a 55+ community first until we are late 60’s early 70’s before moving to a ccrc.

[braumeister]

DW and I are both turned off by the residents we see at CCRCs. They always appear to be a few years from the end, and we just can't see ourselves in that group. Since we're still both very healthy (doing half marathons in our 70s), we're putting it off as long as we can. Being in a condo where there is little or nothing do worry about for outside maintenance is a big help.

We have watched several of our neighbors live independently until their 90s, so that's another fact supporting our decision. Never say never, but we're just not there yet.

[Al in Ohio]

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Originally Posted by Bamaman My parents were in a luxury apartment thru their 80's with semi-full time help taking care of them. After we lost my father, my sister insisted on moving my mother into a brand new CRCC. The deposit was $170K (90% refundable) and the rent was $2050 a month including 20 meals at the nicest restaurant in the city. They had a Dutch chef handling the food. Most of the people there were 80 years old on average, or a little younger than my mother. She absolutely loved the place and all the activities they had going on. We ended up having 24/7 care for her @ $12 an hour to watch after her. And she was going through money like a sieve. Looking back on the experience, we should have had her in a full nursing home in our town @ about $7K per month. But she was one social animal and enjoyed life. We finally lost her when she was down to her last $5K cash--time to go.

She did it just right. Good for her. Your sister knew your mother well.

[harllee]

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Originally Posted by braumeister DW and I are both turned off by the residents we see at CCRCs. They always appear to be a few years from the end, and we just can't see ourselves in that group. Since we're still both very healthy (doing half marathons in our 70s), we're putting it off as long as we can. Being in a condo where there is little or nothing do worry about for outside maintenance is a big help. We have watched several of our neighbors live independently until their 90s, so that's another fact supporting our decision. Never say never, but we'r just not there yet.

The CCRCs you have looked at must be very different from the one we are moving to. Sure there are a few frail folks with walkers but most look like folks at a swanky country club party. At age 70 I am not running marathons (never have) but I do walk the golf course and carry my clubs and so do many folks at the CCRC.