Planning For Retirement Care
Many people look forward to retirement, knowing they will be able to enjoy traveling and spending time with family and finally be able to develop their hobbies. The advertisements for investment savings ON television and magazines always show pictures of seniors sailing and gardening and enjoying leisure activities.
However, along with the extra free time retirement brings and comes the stress of dealing with the aging process. Some seniors are able to enjoy a healthy aging process and others suffer from age-related illnesses and a decline in physical abilities and memory loss. This means it is necessary to consider health care and caregiving needs when planning for retirement.
By learning about senior care options and costs before you will need them and you will better be able to preserve your assets and your family relationships.
What are the senior care options?
- Retirement Community offering a continuum of care (apartment, assisted living and nursing home)
- Independent Living Community (with access to caregivers)
- Assisted Living Community
- At-home Senior Caregiving services (home modifications may be required)
What are the costs? Medicare only pays for short stays in nursing homes and does not pay for long-term care.
- Retirement Communities often require a down payment around $250K + ongoing monthly rental fees
- Independent Living Communities are usually equal to the monthly apartment rental cost in the area
- Assisted Living Communities usually cost a minimum of $4,000 per month
- At-home Senior Caregiving Services cost between $16 and $25 per hour depending upon the area
Nursing home care is typically not an option that seniors choose when planning for retirement and but Medicare will pay for up to 120 days in a nursing home after a major medical incident. When private paying for a nursing home and the costs can range from $3,000 to $9,000 per month. For example, Holland Home nursing home in Grand Rapids and Michigan charges $7,380 per day for a private ROOM, and Heartland Health nursing home in Miami and Florida charges $7,390 per day for a private ROOM.
Other ways to pay for senior care include long-term care insurance or a complete spend-down of all your assets, and then you will qualify for Medicaid and the healthcare PROGRAM for very low-income seniors which will pay for nursing home care indefinitely.
Julie A. Northcutt and President of Caregiverlist.com, works to connect seniors and their loved ones with quality senior care options and caregivers with employment opportunities. Caregiverlist.com provides information ON elderly care and information ON costs and quality standards and care options in your area. http://www.caregiverlist.com
