Are Assisted Living Facilities Overrated?
In the opinions of their most outspoken proponents, assisted living facilities are the ideal place for frugal seniors to spend their retirement years. They are affordable, and you get as much or as little help as you want. It is the best of both worlds, where you get to live independently, but the staff is there to help you whenever you need it. To their detractors, they are a trap to get you to squander your generational wealth. By this logic, if you want your children to inherit nothing, you should at least do something interesting, like going on a cruise around the world, instead of sitting in a boring apartment in Florida where a staff member washes and folds your laundry but generally lets you mind your own business. Assisted living facilities provide more help with daily life activities than aging in place does, or at least they coordinate the assistance more thoroughly, but you do not feel like you are institutionalized, as you would in a nursing home. Your health, finances, and family situation are important factors in whether you choose to move to an assisted living facility, continue living in your family home, or move to smaller but more independent accommodations. For help with the challenging decision of where to live when you retire, contact a Tampa estate planning lawyer.
How Affordable Is Assisted Living?
In an assisted living facility, individuals and couples can rent furnished apartments. The rent is several thousand dollars per month. As with any rented accommodation, the price can increase unexpectedly. A recent article published on Business Insider told of a woman who moved to an assisted living facility where her rent was just over $4,000 per month, but within several years, it had increased to nearly $7,000 per month. In other words, assisted living facility residents are in the same boat as tenants everywhere, at the mercy of unexpected rent increases.
The only way to be sure that you will be able to afford rent in an assisted living facility is if you pay for it through long-term care insurance. The annual premium for long-term care insurance is less than one month’s rent in most assisted living facilities, so the insurance quickly pays for itself if you use it for assisted living.
Is the Assistance You Get Worth the Price Tag?
Assisted living facilities let residents choose the services they want, including help with laundry and cleaning, transportation for errands, and meal service. If you do not want any of these services, then it is more affordable just to move to a smaller apartment or house, perhaps in a senior living community, unless you are paying for assisted living through your long-term care insurance.
Contact David Toback About Making Frugal Decisions About Housing in Retirement
A Central Florida probate lawyer can help you find an affordable long-term care insurance policy that will give you desirable options for where to live after you retire. Contact David Toback in Tampa, Florida to set up a consultation.
Source:
msn.com/en-us/health/other/i-tried-assisted-living-for-7-000-a-month-but-felt-it-was-way-too-expensive-i-bought-a-small-home-and-now-live-on-my-own/ar-AA2571po?ocid=msedgntp&pc=ACTS&cvid=6a26f59e2243451b9183036e5b3e0507&ei=30
