As exciting as planning for your retirement can be, it involves many considerations from a financial standpoint. From travel plans to your living situation, there are a lot of pieces and parts to consider when setting your budget and ensuring you have the necessary means to live out your retirement years in comfort. One of the largest expenses to consider during your retirement years is healthcare. It’s no secret – healthcare costs keep rising. The average couple will need $285,000 in today’s dollars for medical expenses in retirement, excluding long-term care. In this post, we’ll discover considerations to make when it comes to planning and paying for future healthcare costs on your own versus at a Life Plan community.
Planning for Future Healthcare Needs
Managing Healthcare Needs on Your Own at Home
Savings and long-term care policies are some of the most common options when it comes to paying for healthcare needs on your own. A report from the World Economic Forum found that, especially as life expectancies increase, it will become even more necessary to start “investing with a long-term mindset earlier in life to increase total savings later in life” in order to pay for healthcare needs. A long-term care insurance policy helps cover the costs of that care when you have a chronic medical condition or disability. Aging in place in your long-term home can be tough, though, because it makes planning for the future much more difficult. You never know how or when your needs, or your partner’s needs, might change. If you or your partner need Assisted Living or Assisted Care—whether it’s in-home care, medical assistance or home modifications—that can get very expensive, very fast, and you’ll need to devise a plan for yourself when this situation arises.
Managing Healthcare Needs at a Life Plan Community
A Life Care community makes planning for future healthcare needs simple. The Life Care plan ensures you receive the care you need, and at a price you’re prepared for. This helps to protect you from rising, unpredictable long-term care costs. As a Life Care community Member, you have priority access to on-site Assisted Living, Memory Care and Skilled Nursing at predictable future costs that are well below market rates. Unlike the other options, Life Care communities, such as Ventana, operate on a model that covers the cost of Assisted Living, Memory Care and Skilled Nursing, assuring that unanticipated events will not bring unanticipated costs. Life Care is the only senior living option where you are guaranteed to never be asked to leave—even if you outlive your assets. In most cases, long-term care policies can also work hand-in-hand with Life Care at Ventana and can help defray monthly service fees. Although individuals who plan to age in place in a single-family home can utilize their Long-Term Care insurance to cover the costs, this policy probably doesn’t cover the cost of 24-hour assistance and usually has a limited benefit period. They should also consider that in addition to care, someone will need to manage their household and expenses in addition to the care they need. At Ventana, these things are taken care of for you. Members who have done a direct comparison are often surprised to learn that the Life Care community option is the most comprehensive plan available and provides the most cost-efficient option while leaving their legacy intact.
All Levels of Healthcare for Seniors are Offered at Ventana by Buckner
Wherever you choose to spend the years ahead, only one thing really matters: Are you loving life? Happiness, it turns out, is the most important factor in determining both the quality and longevity of life. We could cite studies that show residents of Life Care communities tend to live longer than those who live elsewhere, but the real lesson of those surveys is that people who are living as they choose are happy with their choices. If your vision for the future is one where your future is secure, your home requires no maintenance and luxury is yours to enjoy, consider the unparalleled Life Care community at Ventana by Buckner. It might be exactly the place where you belong. Contact our team today to learn how you can live the luxurious, comfortable lifestyle offered at Ventana.