Staying in my home with help

L

lionne

New Member
At 80 years old, I've lived in my little home for about 25 years - only home of my life. I've toured three retirement communities to see how I feel about them. I like some things - like having people close for companionship and in case I need urgent medical assistance. The biggest down side is the cost. Once you transition to assisted living it's roughly $4000/month. I have been paying into a long-term care insurance policy for about 10 years but not sure if that would apply to rent.
Anyway, the hard part about staying put is: can't do yard work like I used to, can't do heavy housework, and what if I have a fall or stroke, etc. when I'm alone. I do have a medical alert system but what if I pass out before I can set it off. My mother died alone of a massive stroke, and I have Afib which makes me 5 times more likely to have a stroke than someone who doesn't.
So that's my primary issue right now. I'll look and see if there are some other threads here about it.
 

i'm 65 and have been contemplating the long term insurance...price and coverage...difficult decisions are ahead for sure...we have a friend that got out of her house and just moved to a lower level apartment. ..no grass...no upkeep...other seniors around...I liked that plan...best wishes
 
My wife is 70 and I am about to turn 77. We are gradually downsizing and laying the groundwork to move into an independent living facility in the next couple of years. It has a full service dining room, housecleaning, transportation the whole works. It is expensive, but when I add up all of the pending costs that will occur if we stay here and need more help, or cannot drive, then staying here gets even more expensive. Add in the security advantages and the value of having people around and the choice is pretty clear to us.

An associated Long Term Health Care facility is right down the sidewalk from where we want to go, so if one of us has to go there for awhile, the other can easily walk over and watch over things. Living in an Independent Living Facility where so many things are taken care of will greatly enhance out ability to stay out of the Long Term Health Care Facility in the first place.

It is difficult to calculate value received in a situation like this, but don't let money be too big of a deciding factor.

And yes, I am pretty sure that Long Term Health Insurance can be used to pay expenses associated with living in a Long Term Health Facility. It is unlikely that it will help pay for living in an Independent Living Facility which is a lot cheaper anyway.
 

Pecos said:
It is difficult to calculate value received in a situation like this, but don't let money be too big of a deciding factor.
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That depends on whether you have enough money to ignore the cost. I plan on living in my home and hire the help I will need, it will either be less expensive hopefully, or the same as the "other place'' as worse case. I have too many pets and would have to get rid of them, anyway, so for better or for worse, ageing at home is my only choice, since I refuse to give up my fur babies. A couple I know lives in one of those places and the rent for a small one bedroom is a minimum of $3500, but they can afford it and they have no pets.
 
Hi Lionne!

full
 
PVC said:
That depends on whether you have enough money to ignore the cost. I plan on living in my home and hire the help I will need, it will either be less expensive hopefully, or the same as the "other place'' as worse case. I have too many pets and would have to get rid of them, anyway, so for better or for worse, ageing at home is my only choice, since I refuse to give up my fur babies. A couple I know lives in one of those places and the rent for a small one bedroom is a minimum of $3500, but they can afford it and they have no pets.
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I wouldn't give up my pets either.
 
Pecos said:
...... We are gradually downsizing and laying the groundwork to move into an independent living facility in the next couple of years. It has a full service dining room, housecleaning, transportation the whole works. It is expensive, but when I add up all of the pending costs that will occur if we stay here and need more help, or cannot drive, then staying here gets even more expensive...... Living in an Independent Living Facility where so many things are taken care of will greatly enhance out ability to stay out of the Long Term Health Care Facility in the first place......And yes, I am pretty sure that Long Term Health Insurance can be used to pay expenses associated with living in a Long Term Health Facility. It is unlikely that it will help pay for living in an Independent Living Facility which is a lot cheaper anyway.
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We're looking at this too. I'm the one who wants to go into one of these independent living arrangements with the ability to transition (if needed) to skilled care. I like the idea of living in a 'community' of seniors. Wife is not on board with this, however. If our reasonably good health continues, we'll get an apartment first (not in a senior community) to at least get the downsizing completed.

And yes, the insurance is for skilled care, not independent living or assisted.
 
Welcome, lionne! :)

That is a definitely difficult and confusing issue.
There are so many personal and financial parts to any decision like that, yet many of us feel stressed toward trying to figure it out.
I do not think that long-term care insurance would pay toward rent, unless one needed specific medical care and doctor-directed care from nurses, etc, though I am not an expert on it.

I hope you find info, ideas, and enjoy the interactions, here.
 
bingo said:
i'm 65 and have been contemplating the long term insurance...price and coverage...difficult decisions are ahead for sure...we have a friend that got out of her house and just moved to a lower level apartment. ..no grass...no upkeep...other seniors around...I liked that plan...best wishes
Click to expand...
Thanks for responding. One thing about long-term care insurance is it’s way more expensive the older you are when you start paying for it. I was about 67 and my employer offered a better rate than I would have gotten otherwise. I still pay $183/month for it.
 
I have an apartment in a senior's residence, yes it is expensive, but there is a dinning room
where I go occasionally with friends, a drug store, hair dresser, gym, etc. I don't have to
worry about household bills, snow removal and yes I have my cat Callie with me!
 
lionne said:
Thanks for responding. One thing about long-term care insurance is it’s way more expensive the older you are when you start paying for it. I was about 67 and my employer offered a better rate than I would have gotten otherwise. I still pay $183/month for it.
Click to expand...
with you paying that for so long...I hope it does something good for you...this old age thing is quite a conundrum. ..
 
Welcome from Houston! I plan on staying here in my condo with maybe in home help if needed. I am within 3 miles of grocery stores, PCP and hospital if needed. Would love to move closer to my sister in Louisiana but she lives in a rural area with her husband and they have to travel a good hour and a half for good medical facilities. Not an option for me.
 
We had to move from our ideal bungalow, when hubby had his stroke...weve now leased for the past 7yrs, ...so not sure whats in the future for me or us.......This stroke has taken everything from us, including our future 😡
 

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