Aging In Place – What Is It? What Does It Cost?

Aging In Place – What Is It?  What Does It Cost?

Aging In Place – What Is It? What Does It Cost?

Everyone wants to age in place.  People want to stay in their own home, with perhaps some help coming in occasionally to mow the lawn, clean, do laundry, perhaps some help with shopping. cooking, bathing, dressing – when help is needed with those things.

Of course we will be healthy, just slowing down a little.  Aging in place allows us to keep the pets, stay in our home, be near our neighbors and church, and for many people is the desired way we live our golden years.  Nobody wants to go to a nursing home.

Aging in place is very doable for many people.  As long as the home is designed with a laundry on the first floor, the doorways are wide enough for a walker or wheelchair, we are able to get into and out of the building without barriers such as stairs or steps, we should be fine.  Some changes like properly positioned grab bars in the bathroom for safety can also help.

But what if we need more assistance than the above mentioned adaptive devices?  What if we need someone to shop for us, prepare meals, clean the house, do laundry, or even help us with medication management, bathing, and dressing?  These are activities called Long Term Care (LTC).

Home care agencies can come into come into our home on a regular basis to help with those things.  They can even drive us to the bank and other errands we might feel a bit overwhelmed by.  However these services do charge an average of $90 for a single visit, which typically needs to be scheduled.

If you need a visit every day the cost can be $2700 per month.  If only 3 are needed weekly the bill still tops out at nearly $1200 extra per month.  This is in addition to the cost of maintaining the home, taxes, insurance, heat, light, water, etc.  If services are needed for lawn mowing, snow removal, painting or maintenance, the costs are even higher.

Thus the question comes up, is it cheaper to age in place at home, or in an assisted living facility where you have your own “apartment” and meals are provided?

If you plan to age in place, perhaps it is wise to investigate Long Term Care insurance.  This type of insurance can pay for the extra services provided by a home care agency.  If your Social Security or other income is sufficient to pay for care of the home and it’s utilities, then the Long Term Care insurance can pick up your extra care costs.

Have you taken the time to investigate Long Term Care insurance?  It must be purchased while you are still healthy enough to qualify for it.  Prices can vary considerably from one company to another and it is very helpful to have guidance in choosing coverage that is appropriate and not excessive.  It is also vital that the benefits keep up with inflation as it may not be used for a number of years.

Investigate with an expert who has 24 years of financing Long Term Care costs.  Call www.TheLongTermCareGuy.com at (920) 884-3030 to schedule a time to look into this.

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