We have been having this conversation with several friends, who have either moved to an active seniors community or who are considering One. There seem to be many different types, some with large buy-ins. I promised a few friends I would start to collect some information as we want to discuss and explore possibilities for down the road and several of them have a many year waiting list. So I thought it would be helpful to start a conversation and gather information from those of here who have experience, information or who are also exploring this possibility. We all agree that having a community with multiple tiers of support such that one could transition from independent to the next steps with greater support services are needed would be the ideal.Thanks in advance.
I started a similar thread a while back.
Do you have an update from last year? Did you get more information or visit more facilities? Get more information about the types of communities?
Yes. We have now visited four places in three cities.
All are nonprofits, and all have hefty buy-ins, although what those are varies as does how much you/your estate receives back.
I absolutely recommend starting this early to look at these places (we are 62). We feel pretty educated about the fancy CCRCs, but our financial adviser nixed our dream plan. I’ll spare you the details, but we now are looking at AL places for later in life rather than starting with independent living at a CCRC starting in our 70s and growing old there. Current plan is to make a move to one of the kids and buy a condo or duplex or something that’s not a standalone home and live there until we need to move into some kind of care facility. Ds1 and his wife are in town for a wedding and told dh and I yesterday that they just want us and her parents and aunt and uncle in the same facility! lol
ETA: I could answer specific questions, but there’s so much to cover to just spitball it all. Everything mentioned by myself and others applies — some places will nickel and dime you, adding on all kinds of costs. The most expensive place did not. For instance, you get one free parking spot. At other places, you pay for a spot and pay more for a covered place. You pay more in the newer “towers” in some places. Free continental breakfast, and some you pay for breakfast. That kind of thing. Some you get a life alert necklace; at some places you are charged for that … that kind of thing. Way too many to list
Some places around here, you have to pay if you want any help—change a lightbulb, install grab bars. The place my folks lived, no extra fee for those things, nor unlocking your door if you forgot or temporarily lost your key.
The monthly fee included the equivalent of a meal/day and whatever else you wanted/ate was added to your bill.
There aren’t that many options in our state and definitely none that are on golf and/or tennis courts.
One more thing to consider is cost of extra help if you want to stay in independent living but need some (or a lot) of help.
Also find out how it’s determined what level of care a resident needs and what happens if resident and family disagree with the management about moving to higher levels of care. At the CCRC where my folks lived, once you enter AL, the CCRC can move patient to higher levels of care OVER OBJECTIONS OF PATIENT & FAMILY!
Some places have a maximum # of hours a person can have help in Independent Living before they HAVE to move to AL. The number can be 11 hrs/day or whatever is in the contract. READ carefully and understand.
We moved my dad and his wife into an AL facility in AZ this past June after an emergency situation. We did not encounter any wait lists or buy-ins, just an upfront reservation deposit ($5K), and the $7,500/mo fee that covers everything—two-person apartment, all meals, laundry, nursing care, PT/OT, transpo to/from appointments, activities, amenties (salon, spa, in-house movie theatre, etc.). It is billed as a “distinctive assisted living property.” From AL, they can move to memory care/hospice on the same campus as required with adjusted fees, but nothing outrageous.
We have started to discuss CCRCs with our (childless) BFs as we don’t feel our only child has any responsibility to care for us as we age. We are discussing what event(s) or conditions will be the equivalent of the “check engine light” warning that means it’s time to act rather than continue to browse. Will watch this thread with interest.
Thanks. I’m currently curious to hear more about the active seniors communities that would have the opportunity for assisted living down the road. Continuing care facilities are an option, but not an absolute requirement.
I have been looking. Some have a medical evaluation that affects pricing. One thing to ask about.
My dad and his wife own a home in an active seniors community with an option to slide into the AL/CCRC part of the property as life happens, but they never acted on that as an advance option. By the time their emergency occurred, their community could not accommodate them, so we had to find another property. The lesson was that if you live in the independent area of these communities and want to age into their AL and beyond care, you need to make those plans and commitments well in advance of any emergency events. Fortunately, their emergency alternative was less than a mile from their master-planned community, so they did not lose their friend or church group.
I think that places like AZ and FL, which are bastions of retirement and geriatric medicine, offer many types of IL-to-AL communities and don’t have the waiting lists and regressive fees of other states.
The AL facility my dad and his wife moved to required a very thorough intake exam/form from their primary care physician to determine the fees associated with their current care needs. They are evaluated by the facility medical personnel every 90 days to determine any care/fee adjustments
I’ve started the conversation with my sibling who has some health issues and lives alone. I also have a sister-in-law who is looking. The place they both have in mind is a continuing care community that requires a buy in. I’m not sure how it all works but the buy ins on a 2 bedroom looked like they can top a million. What we have learned so far is that the deposit is $10,000 and the wait approximately 6 years.
The buy in that was shown to a friend was, for 2 people and a 2 br plus den, $3M!
Wow!
I have been surprised to find that the largest CCRC in our area rarely assigns people to assisted living. The place is huge and only 300 in AL. Instead, residents use an agency affiliated with the CCRC. So what is the difference between living there and staying in a house, condo or rental? Apparently activities and socialization.
I am in MA and found a smaller community that is really nice, lots of light with large glass windows, and gardens, people seemed happy. One bedroom for $225K and monthly payment around $2300. Refund of 90% upon leaving or death. Same deal as the large place, with two agencies affiliated for either help with activities of daily living or medical help with meds etc. It is a little remote- but none of these communities are in a walkable town.
Many encourage entry in mid-70’s. I am 74! Of course the population in each community continues to age and eventually need more services.
That’s the highest I’ve heard!
The CCRC near us that my folks lived in went from $1mm buy in for a 2 bedroom to a $2mm for a buy in. I believe the 3 bedroom or 2 bedroom plus den may also be $3mm. This is in addition to monthly fees plus the estate gets back a %, depending on what the contract was when the resident(s) moved in—was 90% and believe it dropped to 85% and who knows if it dropped further.
Just wow. For $MM, you can hire a full-time live-in care provider and stay in your home. Heck, you can have a private chef and massage therapist on top of that if you want them. Who’s paying these prices and what are they getting for that? I could easily forgo socialization and activities as I don’t participate in those now in the active adult community we currently live in.
My mom was in a CCRC for two years before she passed in FL. No buy in, just first/last month “rent”. We thought she would qualify for AL but after a very thorough eval, the facility put her in memory care. We balked but in retrospect it was the right place for her because she would have wandered out of the AL. MC was $8K/month and included all meals, activities, house keeping, and home health aides for activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, toileting). We did have two stints where my mom was hospitalized and got so confused she needed a dedicated 24hr/7 caregiver but that only lasted a few days before she went back to her baseline.
My inlaws are looking into a CCRC (again in FL) and they have a ton of wonderful options.
We have a beautiful CCRC in our town. Buy in is $500K-$750K depending on the size of the unit and monthly fees of $6K for IL. It goes up as more care is required. It looks like a luxury resort. That said, when we get to that point, we’ll move to a CCRC near our daughter so she is more easily able to keep tabs and visit. Who knows where she will be living when that time comes. And as noted, if it’s crazy expensive, we’ll be better off having a live in caregiver.
The well-known facility in Austin that I’m sure you know of had a buy-in cost of $1.1 million when my parents were on their waiting list a few years ago. Thank goodness that due to timing, Dad didn’t end up there! My sister and I made an executive decision to look around, and he is quite happy in the place we selected. His fee was one month’s rent.
We’ve toured that place multiple times now. They must’ve been buying into a larger unit than we are touring.