What Is Life Care In a Life Plan Community?

One of the trickiest parts of retirement planning is the financial aspect. You want to have sufficient assets to support a lifestyle you’ll enjoy, but you also want to make sure you’ll be able to afford whatever care you might need in the future.

A Life Plan Community can help you accomplish both of those long-term retirement goals: living the active lifestyle you’ve always enjoyed AND ensuring a solid, sensible plan for care down the road … way down the road!

So how does it work? A Life Plan Community that offers what’s called a Life Care contract supports an active, maintenance=free lifestyle PLUS access to care you may need as you age into your senior years.

Peace of Mind for the Present, Security for the Future

Living in a community tailored to like-minded, active adults can be very appealing as you get closer to retirement and even after you are fully retired. Adding a Life Care contract into that lifestyle offers sizeable financial benefits, including the following:

Serious tax advantages. Residents who decide a Life Plan Community is right for them will pay an entrance fee when they move in, as well as a monthly fee that covers some utilities, amenities and services. A portion of the entrance fee may be tax deductible for the year in which you pay it. You may also be able to deduct part of your monthly fees for as long as you live in the community, because some of this money is considered part of prepaid medical expenses. Your tax adviser can offer more guidance on this.

Care for life, at a predictable cost. Living in a Life Plan Community means you can enjoy your active lifestyle knowing you have access to quality care when you need it later. Advanced care is expensive and will no doubt increase in the years ahead. Knowing how much you’ll pay for advanced care, should you need it later on, is among the most appealing benefits.

With a Life Care contract, services related to assisted living, memory support and skilled nursing care are provided to residents with discounts to their monthly fee for that care. (There may be a slight increase for meals provided.)

Smart Planners, Listen Up!

Thinking about things like assisted living or skilled nursing care may not feel necessary when you are still very much involved in living an active, engaged lifestyle. But it’s important to consider that, according to the National Council on Aging, someone turning 65 today has nearly a 70% chance of needing some sort of long-term care during the remainder of their lifetime. A Life Plan Community with a Life Care contract allows residents to plan for that care by giving them the peace of mind of knowing a) where they’ll receive that care, and b) how much that care will cost.

Many assisted living and memory care facilities have long waiting lists. A benefit of Life Care is avoiding a lengthy wait if advanced care is needed. Living in a Life Plan Community takes the assurance of care availability a step further. Residents know how much their care will cost — even if they don’t need it until decades later.

So, residents of Life Plan retirement communities who are paying a monthly fee, can expect to have a predictable monthly fee for as long as the live in the community — even if they later need health services such as assisted living or memory care. Being prepared at this level is incredibly appealing to active adults planning for the future.

Protect Your Future — and Your Assets

Unless you’re prepared, an unexpected health crisis can quickly drain your financial assets. Even if you have insurance to cover the cost of your medical care, you may need long-term care afterward.

In addition to ensuring you’ll have priority access to the care you need when you need it, at a predictable cost, Life Care can ensure you’ll have a legacy by safeguarding your assets. Not only will you receive discounted care in assisted living, memory care, or skilled nursing, but you’ll also find that a percentage of your entrance fee is likely refundable (to you or your estate). The refundable portion varies from one community to another, with some offering up to a 90% refund.

How Much Does a Life Plan Community Cost?

The cost of living in a Life Plan Community can vary within the same community as well as from one community to another.

The one-time entrance fee for a Life Care contract is determined by factors such as the type of contract chosen and the specific residence selected. As noted earlier, most communities offer one or more refundability options for entrance fees.

Everyone who chooses to live in our new Texas Township community can enjoy the peace of mind that Life Care provides, because it’s a feature in all of our contracts.

Want To Learn More?

To make the best choice for your future, even if retirement is still a few years away, you need the right information. But, if you’d rather do just about anything else than read about the financial variables of retirement communities, you’re not alone.

We can make it more interesting — and easier to understand!

Plus, Life Care in our new Texas Township Life Plan Community will be different. The care options will be provided by Heritage Community of Kalamazoo, a name that’s earned a high level of trust throughout southwestern Michigan.

For more information, call us at (269) 238-0799.

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