Wouldn’t it be great if you could know that your parent’s future care needs were completely taken care of? That they could plan financially and not have to worry if something were to happen with their health? That you didn’t have to keep touring different communities as their needs increased? Oh wait … there is!
For those that aren’t familiar, CCRC stands for Continuing Care Retirement Community. They’re also called Life Care Communities and today we’re going to take a look at what they are and when you might want to consider one!
If you’re a regular listener, you know that recently we’ve been defining each type of Senior care….. from independent living or retirement living…to skilled nursing…
If we put all the care levels together: independent, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing, we’d have a continuing care retirement community.
What exactly does that mean? Well it means that you don’t have to find a new community no matter what type of care your loved one ends up needing. You most likely will still have to move from one apartment to another. This might be to another building on the same campus and it’s something you will have already planned for. You will know what the next steps are i.e. which building is what and what it means financially.
There are relatively few of these types of communities across the US and many of them are non-profit. Each will have it’s own contract and many are very much like buying a condo in the sense that there’s a larger financial investment. This why this may not be an option for everyone.
So, let’s talk about cost! There are a few different types of contracts when it comes ccrc’s and some offer more than one of these options on the same campus.
Most often you’ll find:
A full care option
An ala cart option
And A modified option
The full care option (sometimes called care for life) is an all inclusive option that involves an investment. This option is much like buying a condo and the fee ,often called an entrance fee or buy in, can be anywhere from 400,000 up to 2 million. Think of it as an investment in your future care, because it includes all levels of care. This option has a smaller monthly fee. To give some context, moving from assisted living to memory care and then skilled nursing can be expensive on its own. Skilled nursing can sometimes be as high as 12000 per month. With this option you would have a greater ability to financially plan for the future.
Another benefit of this option is that you usually retain a high percentage of your investment when your loved one passes away. Let’s say you buy in at 1 million and your loved ones passes away. Once the CCRC sells their apartment, you could receive 95% of the original investment back. Sometimes this amount can be less. These can be very complicated contracts and you’d definitely want to consult with an attorney and your financial planner before moving forward.
For this type of program they usually prefer that you move in at Retirement age and begin in their independent or retirement community.
For those that want to plan for the future and have the ability to make that investment it can be a huge relief to know that all future care needs will be taken care of without having to move or worry about finances. This is especially helpful for couples who want to make sure that both spouses will be taken care of. We often work with one spouse who has spent most of their money caring for the other and worry that there won’t be anything left for them.
With the ala cart option you using don’t have that large up front financial investment but it involves a higher monthly fee and this fee increase as care needs increase. So yes, you are paying for what you get but it’s harder to plan financially.
The modified plan may include certain services with an entrance fee. This is usually smaller than the full care option and anything outside that offering incurs an additional fee.
The care for live option is more like an investment and the ala cart and modified options have a much lower entrance fee but a higher monthly fee which would most likely change as care needs increase.
Sound complicated? Well it is a little complicated which is why it’s a good to consult with an attorney before making a decision. There are so many options when it comes to Senior living and care! Hopefully this has been helpful and will make your search a little more doable.
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