Paying for Assisted Living: Exploring Financial Options
These days, more than 800,000 Americans live in assisted living communities. If you've decided that moving to an assisted living community is the right next step for you or a loved one, the next thing that you may be considering is how you'll pay for it.
Paying for assisted living can seem like a daunting task at first. However, once you start considering the various funding options that are available to you, the path forward becomes much clearer.
If you're thinking about assisted living in Prairie Village, KS, read on. In this guide, we'll take a closer look at the financial options you can use to pay for assisted living.
Why Consider Assisted Living?
If living on your own has become difficult for you and you're having trouble managing daily tasks and activities, such as bathing, dressing, and eating, then it may be time to consider assisted living. Assisted living can make it easier for you to live your daily life and help you feel like you aren't becoming a burden to family members. It can be especially helpful if you look for great mobility options for seniors in assisted living.
In an assisted living community, you'll be able to get all of your needs met while also enjoying a social experience and having plenty of fun activities to participate in. You can also get support from staff, and they can get help with ensuring you take all necessary medications each day. If you're able to pay for it, assisted living or comprehensive senior respite care in Prairie Village can be well worth the cost.
Common Ways to Pay for Assisted Living
Funding senior care can seem tricky at first, but there are more potential options than you may realize. Here are some of the most common elder care payment options to consider.
Existing Savings
A common way to pay for assisted living is by using existing savings. A senior may have the funds available to pay for assisted living on their own. You may want to consider using a:
- 401k
- IRA
- Another retirement savings account
In addition to a senior's savings, a family member may also want to contribute to paying assisted living costs as well. Using existing savings to pay for assisted living is less risky than other options and can be easy to access, if available.
Family Income
The income of family members could also serve as financial assistance for seniors. If the burden of supporting a senior's assisted living costs is shared, then paying for it could be fairly easy. If the senior has social security benefits, this can also be used to help pay for assisted living as well.
In many cases, a combination of income, social security benefits, and savings can be used to cover assisted living costs and ensure the senior is able to have the living arrangement they need.
Long-Term Care Insurance
Another common way to pay for senior living expenses is with long-term care insurance. These insurance policies offer many benefits and may help cover some of the costs when looking for the right location for senior assisted living. However, it's important to think ahead and to get long-term care insurance early on to ensure that you'll be covered in the future. There is usually a gap of time in which you'll need to wait before you can make use of the benefits.
You should also know exactly what's included in the insurance plan that you get. Ensure you'll be covered for the care you'll need in the future and covers activities of daily living (ADL).
VA Benefits
If you're a veteran, then the benefits you receive from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) could be useful for covering assisted living costs.
If you need help with daily activities like bathing and dressing, the Aid & Attendance allowance could be helpful to you. You may be able to put this tax-free allowance toward the costs of moving into an assisted living community. Alternatively, "housebound" benefits may also be useful for paying for assisted living, if you qualify.
You may want to explore these options further to determine your eligibility for these VA benefits and whether they may help cover assisted living costs.
Life Insurance
Life insurance could also be a tool you can use to pay for assisted living as a senior. If cash value has accumulated in the policy, you may be able to make withdrawals and use it to pay for living needs.
Another good option is a "life settlement" which allows you to sell your life insurance policy for a lump sum payment. While you'll carefully want to consider whether this solution is right for you, it's one option you'll definitely want to consider if you'll have a hard time coming up with the funds otherwise.
Real Estate
Real estate assets and other investments can also help you get the necessary funds to cover assisted living costs. Selling any real estate that you own and using it to cover assisted living costs is, of course, one option to consider. You may also want to consider renting out your current home and using the rental income to pay for assisted living.
There are many more ways you can utilize real estate to pay for assisted living as well. You may want to get a home equity loan in order to borrow against your real estate asset and use it to cover the cost of assisted living. Similarly, a reverse mortgage can also be helpful and will allow you to convert part of your home equity to cash.
Successfully Paying for Assisted Living
As you can see, there are various ways that you can go about paying for assisted living. By considering all of your options or by combining several of them, you'll be able to get the funds you need to improve your lifestyle and get the perfect living arrangement.
If you're looking for an amazing assisted living community in Kansas, consider Addington Place of Prairie Village. Our community offers the very best amenities and living options and can help meet your needs as a senior.
Want to find out more about Addington Place of Prairie Village and what we offer seniors? Contact us today to learn more about senior living in Prairie Village, KS, and to schedule a tour.