Retirement homes: A place you can call your own

When my parents grew too frail to live completely on their own, our family considered the options. Should we hire someone to provide daily in-home care visits? Or should we look into a retirement home? At first, we didn’t want to consider the second option. We were fuzzy about the difference between retirement homes (which are meant for relatively healthy seniors) and nursing homes or long-term care facilities (which are intended for those who need extensive nursing attention). Retirement homes sounded too institutional for what my parents needed. As we researched the matter, however, we were pleasantly surprised at what retirement homes had to offer. The facilities were far nicer than we had expected. Most important, the homes allowed seniors like my parents, who continued to cherish their privacy, to live in their own apartments. The homes provided housekeeping, meals in a common dining room, 24-hour emergency assistance, and other support, but otherwise left residents with the independence they had always enjoyed. We were pleased to find that retirement homes really did feel like homes and not like institutions. While leaving the family home behind is never easy, my parents eventually decided that the retirement home option would work for them. They moved into one in Victoria three years ago. While my Dad has since passed on, my relatively hale 80-year-old mom continues to live comfortably in her new home. She’s made friends, finds the food quite tasty, and appreciates not having to do her own housekeeping. She likes the home’s many activities, such as “sit-and-be-fit” classes, and enjoys taking walks around the welltended grounds. Her comfort has made her kids comfortable. I live in Ontario and one sister lives in California, but another sister lives nearby in Victoria and drops by frequently to visit my mom and have meals with her in the home’s dining room. Management and staff are friendly and attentive. Live-in managers keep tabs on how each resident is doing and will check in on an ailing senior who unexpectedly misses a meal Common rooms are well-furnished with comfortable and attractive furniture. Art decorates the well-lighted hallways. While aging is no picnic and she misses my dad, my mom is content with the lifestyle she has found at her retirement home. If you’re interested in a retirement home for yourself or a relative, let me offer you a few tips from my own family’s experience as well as from the broader experience of experts. Assess what you really need Retirement homes provide different levels of support. Mobile seniors like my mom require only basic support such as common meals, housekeeping and 24-hour emergency response by live-in staff. Derek Mercey, an industry consultant and vice-president of Care Planning Partners and The Care Guide Inc., which publishes guides to retirement homes, estimates about 25% of retirement home units are devoted to providing this level of basic support. Seniors who need a bit more support should look for homes that provide help with administering medications as well as with essential physical activities such as bathing and dressing. This set-up is sometimes called “assisted living,” but terminology varies widely from province to province, so make sure you understand the term used in your locale. Such facilities make up about 75% of retirement home units, according to Mercey’s figures. If you want to make sure that you or your parent can stay put as frailties grow, you should consider homes that offer “aging in place.” These homes allow you to start off with modest levels of support when you’re relatively healthy, but ratchet up the support level as you need it. Just remember that there are limits. If you need intensive nursing support, you probably require more help than a retirement home can provide and will need to consider a nursing home or long-term care facility. Price matters Retirement homes can be expensive. Count on paying $2,000 to $3,000 a month for a studio or small one-bedroom unit for a single person. That figure typically covers rent, meals, housekeeping and basic support needs. If you share your apartment with your spouse, you will probably pay an extra $500 to $700 a month. If all of that adds up to simply too much money, small units away from major cities can go for as little as $1,500 a month, Mercey says. On the other hand, if money is no object, you can find luxurious one-bedroom units in downtown Toronto or Vancouver for as much as $8,000 a month. But deals can be found While a retirement home may seem too expensive for your budget, take heart. Don’t forget that government pension plans, such as CPP and OAS, will pay you up to $16,600 a year in retirement. Assuming you have a paid-off home that you can sell, as well as a small nest egg, you should be able to raise another $300,000 or so — and since you probably won’t need a nursing home until your late 70s or later, you can be fairly aggressive in drawing down that money. Between the government pension plans and your savings, you should be able to generate a bit over $30,000 a year in income. That should cover the cost of a small apartment for an individual in a modest retirement home. If your income doesn’t stretch that far, and you live in British Columbia or Alberta, you can look into publicly supported retirement homes. These homes will often gear your rent to your income. Another option is non-profit homes, which typically cater to specific groups or communities. But be warned: you may have to do some research to find these homes since they often do little beyond world-of-mouth to promote themselves. Get your tax breaks If you have a marked restriction in some specific basic activities like walking and dressing, be sure to check out your eligibility for the Disability Tax Credit, and the Medical Expense Tax Credit for that portion of your retirement home costs attributable to attendant care. “I’ve found that these credits get missed fairly frequently,” says Trisha MacLennan, a financial planner in Burnaby, B.C. She gives occasional talks on financial planning at seniors homes and has found herself peppered with questions about these complex credits from seniors who hadn’t realized they might be eligible. Earlier is better Most people don’t move into a retirement home until they’re in their late 70s or early 80s. Don’t leave the decision until the last minute, however. Otherwise an unexpected illness or injury might force you into a quick choice when you’re not ready. “It is a very difficult thing to talk about,” says Esther Goldstein, an expert on retirement homes and author of The Comprehensive Guide to Retirement Living. But, especially if you’re dealing with aged parents, Goldstein recommends you have the conversation as early as possible. Trust your eyes You should take a tour of any home that you’re considering. Most allow you to have a meal on site and talk to other residents. Many retirement homes also let you arrange a trial stay that can range from a few days to a few weeks. Goldstein suggests you try to stay at least a full week to see how the home functions during weekends and other off-peak times. Consider home care Retirement homes aren’t always the best option. Many seniors find that additional support from family members or from paid providers in the family home works better for them. But be realistic about how much help family members can provide. Who will cover for you when you go on vacation? If family members simply can’t do the job, you may want to consider having outside providers come to your home. Some provinces will help arrange subsidized in-home support, but governmental assistance is often very limited. Location, location Based on my own family’s experience, I think it’s vital to try to find a home that is reasonably near at least one of your kids. Despite all the support a retirement home can provide, there’s no substitute for family members in the vicinity. Do your reading Several directories list retirement homes. For homes in Alberta, B.C. and Ontario, check out www.the careguide.com and The Care Guide Source for Seniors, put out by Care Planning Partners Inc. In Ontario, take a look at www.senioropolis.com and Goldstein’s Comprehensive Guide to Retirement Living (she plans to expand her research to other provinces later this year). For homes in British Columbia, turn to www.seniorshousing.bc.ca, sponsored by the nonprofit Seniors Services Society. In Alberta, check out www.ascha.com, sponsored by the Alberta Senior Citizens’ Housing Association, an organization of retirement home providers.

Retirement homes: A place you can call your own

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