What to Know About Continuing Care Retirement Communities

Have you given some thought to where and how you’d like to live in your retirement years?  Many insist on staying in the family home – without thinking about logistics of stairs and navigating the bathroom in later years.  Maybe you’ll just downsize to a smaller home.  Others decide to move into a senior community, making new friends in these settings with like-minded and active adults.  The latest enticing option is Continuing Care Retirement Communities, which offer initial living in townhomes or condos, while guaranteeing acceptance for one or both spouses into assisted living or even memory care as the need might arise. This is a financial, as well as logistical and emotional decision, as many of these CCRCs require a large up-front deposit, typically funded by the sale of the family home.  Guarantees are involved, but you need to read the fine print.  You’ll find an explanation and details in Terry’s recent column. On this podcast, we will speak with Dana Smith, Chief Marketing Officer for Lifespace Communities (https://www.lifespacecommunities.com/), a non-profit  company that has 18 communities in seven states, ranging from Florida to Texas, and Illinois to Kansas.  As you’ll hear in this podcast, Dana has the answers to so many questions, ranging from how to get that deposit back to what happens if you run out of money.   And she has tips on what to look for and what questions to ask if you are considering moving to a Continuing Care Retirement Community.

Om Podcasten

Whatever life after 50 looks like to you, thinking about money in retirement shouldn’t keep you up at night. We’re all dealing with the big questions about money and aging: How much you can really spend, how to invest your life savings without risking it all in the stock market, and should you sell your home and downsize? Then there’s the biggest unknown: how much health care you’ll need, and whether your savings and insurance is enough to cover the costs. This is personal. These topics may not be easy to talk about with your own family. That’s why nationally known personal finance experts Terry Savage, Richard Eisenberg, and Pam Krueger and are here to open up the dialogue so you can learn how to define your retirement and deal with your money on your own terms. These three friends think, write, and speak about these issues. And now they’re joining forces to give you the benefit of their experience, wisdom and advice in their new podcast, Friends Talk Money. Each week Richard, Pam and Terry will discuss a different piece of the retirement pie. Everything from Social Security and Medicare to investing and cash flow management is on the table, with practical, common-sense advice on how to deal with these and other challenges. But don’t expect cut-and-dried answers. These friends have strong opinions, and aren’t afraid to debate the pros and cons of their friends’ recommendations. But what you will walk away after each episode is a greater awareness of the retirement planning issues you’ll need to address with the help of your family, friends and financial advisor.