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Financial Benefits of Life Care in Senior Living

A woman sits at the table with her older father and and they look at a tablet together

If you’ve researched your senior living options, you know there are a lot of different terms used to describe senior living. This blog post will look at the benefits of choosing a Life Plan Community with Life Care — like Freedom Village at Brandywine — to help you make the best decision for you and your finances.

 

What Is a Life Plan Community?

Life Plan Communities offer an all-inclusive, maintenance-free, wellness-focused lifestyle with a variety of services and amenities and plenty of social opportunities and activities. At Freedom Village at Brandywine, you can move into one of our independent living condominiums and start enjoying a myriad first-class services and amenities right outside your door – multiple dining venues, a state-of-the-art fitness center, indoor saltwater pool and spa, bocce ball court and putting green, robust social calendar, and so much more. 

But if the unexpected happens and you need a higher level of care, one of the benefits of Life Plan Communities is that they offer a continuum of care — like assisted care, memory care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation — right on-site. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, someone turning 65 today has almost a 70% chance of needing some higher levels of care in the future … and they’ll need that care for an average of 3 years.

 

What is Life Care?

Life Care is a type of financial contract. You pay a one-time entrance fee and a monthly fee for your independent living residence. The amount you pay depends on the number of residents and the floor plan you choose. The more square footage, the larger the fee. You then have priority access to high-quality care at predictable prices that are much lower than market rates. The benefits of Life Care also include:

  • Savings: You’ll see substantial savings compared to the average cost of private assisted care, memory care and skilled nursing.
  • Asset preservation: By paying lower prices for higher levels of care, you’re preserving your assets over your lifetime.
  • Tax savings: A portion of your entrance fee and monthly fee could be tax-deductible as a prepaid health cost. As with all financial decisions, check with your financial advisor about this.
  • Peace of mind: Imagine knowing that your family members won’t have to worry about what your next move will be if your physical or mental health changes. By pre-planning your future now, you’re maintaining control over those decisions because you’re the one who’s making them.

Note: A Life Care community is also a Life Plan Community. But not every Life Plan Community is a Life Care community.

 

Having a Plan Is More Affordable than You Think

While you would probably rather stay in your current home for as long as possible, when you compare the cost of senior living to your current lifestyle, you may find moving to a Life Plan Community is more affordable than you realize. Even if your home is paid off, you’ll still have monthly upkeep and maintenance expenses, utilities, insurance, and property tax. 

Plus, modifying your current residence to safely age in place can be another costly expense. Senior living communities are purposefully built and designed to help you get more out of life by staying as independent as possible for as long as possible. If you want to talk about senior living contracts or Life Care benefits, contact one of our friendly senior living representatives here to learn more.