Carolina Continuing Care Helps You Plan Your Retirement Today To Save You Time & Money in the Future
1. When should I begin the process of planning?
There are many reasons to plan ahead. Waiting until the day you are ready to move to begin planning can be costly. First, keep in mind that many communities have multi-year waiting lists. Even if you are not ready to move into a continuing care community today it is beneficial to plan ahead and then get on the waiting list for the community that is most suitable for you. Also, most continuing care communities will only allow admittance at the independent living level. Therefore, if you wait until your health is impaired or you need assistance you likely will not qualify for acceptance to the community. Finally, getting accustomed to the culture and setting, and establishing relationships with residents and staff, will be make the transition process easier in the event that you later need to move to assisted living or nursing care within the community.
2. How will your services benefit us?
Our services will benefit you in a number of ways. First and foremost, we will save you a LOT of time and effort because we do all the work for you and present our findings in an easy-to-understand fashion. We compare and contrast different communities for you in terms of amenities, contract options, financial stability, and more. Secondly, choosing a CCRC is a big decision requiring a significant financial commitment. It is a long term decision that isn’t always easy to undo once you have entered a community. Contract structures vary among communities and can be quite confusing. We will help you sort through all of these details so you will have a more complete understanding and can apply it to your personal situation, thereby helping you make the right decision the first time.
3. Do I need to have a basic knowledge of Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC) before meeting with you?
No. We have a basic presentation about CCRC's that we can us to educate you on the things that are important to understand. Then you will be prepared for a more specific decision process based entirely on your personal needs, desires, and financial situation.
4. How do we really know the financial condition of the community in which we are interested?
This has become an increasingly popular question in the wake of the financial crisis. The NC Department of Insurance requires submission of financial documents and audits for each CCRC in the state. We maintain updated copies of these and have analyzed financial ratios and other criteria related to the financial stability of area communities. This allows us to present you with an in-depth financial analysis of the community(s) in which you are interested. We don't guarantee the financial stability of a community but can present you with appropriate information to help you make a decision.
5. Do you only help with researching CCRC’s or do you also research other types of retirement communities?
In the event that we mutually determine that a CCRC is not the best option for you it is important that we are able to provide you with guidance on other types of communities that may not meet the definition of a true CCRC but a similar level of service and setting.
6. How could your services ultimately save me money?
Our focus is on insuring that you make the best choice for your long term happiness. A poor decision today could cost you a significant amount of time and money if you decide to move again later and this is the situation we want to help you avoid.
7. How much could a wrong decision cost me?
Depending on the type of contract you choose, you could potentially lose your entire entrance fee if you decide after a few years that you are not happy in the community or that they do not offer the services you had hoped for. Entrance fees can range in the hundreds of thousands. You will also likely lose the money that you have been paying in the form of monthly service fees during your time in the community.
8. Why would I consider a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC)?
Your needs will change over the years. Health and mobility issues will become more important. For most people it is important to maintain the ability to live independently for as long as possible while also having the sense of security in knowing that health and nursing care will be readily available on site when needed. CCRC's agree to provide care for life through a continuum of care structure.
9. Should my spouse and I have different concerns that should be addressed?
Yes. Part of our working process is to bring out the different ideas and objectives that each spouse has and then come to a conclusion about what communities can best fulfill them.
10. What role should our kids or grand-kids have in the process?
We feel that input and participation from children or grandchildren is helpful at the appropriate time during the decision making process. But we emphasize the importance of making sure that our understanding of your needs and goals are not filtered by their presence.
11. Are there really that many differences among communities that I need to know about?
There are really big differences and also small difference, which are not so obvious. It is important that you have an understanding of both. There are many aspects in which communities differ from one another such as lifestyle, setting, services, amenities, financial, health care, etc.
12. Do you recommend that we meet face to face before we make a decision to use your services?
Yes. We encourage this because our service is based on personal relationships, however, it is not required. The internet, phone, and email are great tools but don’t help build personal relationships. Although, we do understand that situations differ and face to face meetings may not always be possible.
13. What would you expect the time frame to be from getting started until a decision is made?
This is, in large part, up to you. Most of the work we do for you will be covered in a series of 3-4 meetings over the course of a few months. However, if you don’t have plans to actually move into a community for several years, due to a waiting list or other factors, it may be necessary to hold year update meetings to address any changes or potentially new communities that have opened. Any such meetings will take place at a significant discount to the price of our initial service.
14. Can you make the arrangements for us to visit individual facilities?
Yes. We have relationships with representatives at the various communities in the region and we can assist you in making arrangements with them for personal visits. We will also providing them with an up-front understanding of your needs and desires.
15. Can you help me with other areas of planning?
Most facilities require Medicare Parts A & B (or similar coverage) as well as supplemental coverage. They are also likely to review your financial ratios before accepting you into the community. Finally, some facilities will require long-term care insurance. Our staff has the experience and background to help in all of these areas.