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Making the Move to Independent Retirement Living 04/22/2010

A recent AARP poll found that nearly 60 percent of Boomers say they are concerned about living independently, and more than 50 percent say they have begun to think about how they would pay for independent living assistance as they get older.









Making the Move to
Independent Retirement Living



When 72-year-old Army veteran Ted Eickhoff was at his local
VA hospital for an appointment recently, he struck up a conversation with
another patient about selling his home and downsizing. As luck would have it,
Eickhoff’s fellow patient lived in a local independent retirement community
owned by Holiday Retirement, and raved about the benefits. Eickhoff was
sold.


“I couldn’t believe how much you get for the money,” said
Eickhoff. “It is so nice to have everything taken care of with just one monthly
payment. It covers everything I need, including amazing meals. And if you need
another snack, the chefs just make it for you!”


Eickhoff, a retired
Command Sergeant Major, is part of a growing number of seniors who are planning
for an independent living future.


In fact, a recent AARP poll found that nearly 60 percent of
Boomers say they are concerned about living independently, and more than 50
percent say they have begun to think about how they would pay for independent
living assistance as they get older.






Crunching the Numbers


Mereen Klein, 86, started looking at the costs of keeping
her own apartment versus independent living when her eyesight declined. Klein
needed assistance with transportation and didn’t want to keep bugging her son
to drive her around, so she decided to move to an independent retirement living
community that met her needs.


“It was right for me with my fixed income, and the money
covers everything,” said Klein. “I don’t pay for TV, or to have my room
cleaned. I couldn’t believe what I got for the money — it was really
something.”


To determine what makes financial sense, seniors need to add
up the true costs of managing a home versus being part of a retirement
community.


“Even if you no longer have a mortgage payment, you still
have fluctuating monthly expenses including utilities, taxes, phone, cable and
food that can add up significantly,” said Stan Brown, COO of Holiday
Retirement. “For many seniors, switching to a community that includes one
manageable, monthly flat fee gives them the ability to plan out the next 15 to
20 years and know exactly what they can expect to spend and what they can
afford.”


For Klein, it not only made financial sense, it also gave
her back some of her freedom.


“I can take the community bus down to the bank or out to
dinner. I can even go to the doctor and my appointments without bugging anyone
for a ride,” said Klein. “I have more independence now than when I lived
alone.”






Ask the Right
Questions


To calculate the true costs of making the move to an
independent retirement community, Brown cautions seniors to ask as many
questions as possible prior to moving in, to uncover any buy-in fees, to
determine if a long-term lease is required and to see if the “feel” of the
community is right.


“It doesn’t make financial sense to make the move if you
aren’t comfortable in the new community and will want to move out within a few
months,” said Brown. “It needs to not only be affordable, but a great place to
live as well.”


Seventy three-year-old Julianne (Judy) Kayatt knows this all
too well. She sold her home and moved into a community that didn’t offer much
for her money and wasn’t as caring as she’d hoped. After only a few months, she
started her search again and was fortunate to find that a Holiday Retirement
community was a perfect fit for her.


“My family likes that I am happy here, and I like that I can
still be independent and live here,” said Kayatt. “I am free to go where I
want; I am enjoying activities and events and I’m surrounded by friends. I know
I can be happy here for a long time.”






The Golden Years


Making the move to an independent living community can be an
affordable way to make the most of one’s retirement years. Kayatt, Klein and
Eickhoff have all seen the benefits to cutting ties to a house or an apartment in favor of community living.


Klein was able to take advantage of a promotion from Holiday
Retirement, which covered up to $1,000 of her moving expenses, and Kayatt
received her birthday month free when she moved in.


And as for Eickhoff, the payoff for him is being surrounded
by people his own age with shared experiences and a passion for living the good
life.


“This is everything I ever thought about doing when I
retired,” said Eickhoff. “Sometimes people reminisce about the past being
great, but I was fighting in the military for 22 years and working hard, and
now these are my golden years. I can actually relax and people take care of me
for a change.”


For more information on making the move to independent
retirement living, visit holidaytouch.com or call 1-800-322-0999.

 

Also: Federal Housing Assistenance




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