America’s elderly want to stay at home as long as they can, sometime to the detriment of their health and safety. Seniors often postpone the decision to move into senior housing until after an event occurs that precipitates the change, sometimes an accident or a serious health problem push them over the edge to make the change. Assisted-living residents have an average age of 85, according to the National Center for Assisted Living. A growing percentage of those in nursing homes are 85 or older, according to research by the Lewin Group.
Many Continuing Care Retirement Communities are attracting the younger seniors based upon their multitude of amenities and the younger senior’s ability to participate and enjoy more of what these communities have to offer. Some industry leaders are calling for long term budgeting when leaving the house to make sure that seniors save some money for some nursing-home care, since most of the newer nursing homes want residents to pay their own way in before they have to rely on Medicaid.
