Waiting can reduce your retirement choices
Age sneaks up on all of us, along with big retirement choices that we might not feel prepared to make. Questions like “Should I move to a retirement community?” and “Should I purchase long-term care insurance?” are imposing in their importance. Without a sense of urgency, it’s easy to put off the decision to another day, another year.
We plan… but we don’t act on those plans.
There’s a risk to waiting, though. Opportunities can slip away when you least expect it. Some choices require a decision while you’re still active, healthy and independent, evaporating quickly if circumstances change.
Life Plan communities are a perfect example.
We talk often about the benefits of Life Plan communities (also called Continuing Care Retirement Communities, or CCRCs), with their focus on active lifestyles, continued independence and a seamless care model.
Learn more about Life Care Communities in this article: How the Arizona Retirement Lifestyle has Evolved.
Moving into the Life Plan community is a lifestyle choice focused on healthy independence, but also a smart decision to help manage the high cost of health care and protect retirement assets. Life Plan communities are designed to pay for long-term care needs that Medicare and health insurance doesn’t cover. However, once you need care or have certain health issues common to older adults, it can be too late to apply.
All applicants must meet certain health screening criteria to be eligible for the policy. You also must be able to live independently, managing normal tasks of daily living, such as dressing, bathing and preparing meals.
Life can shift on a dime and a diagnosis or accident can change everything.
If you’re considering a Life Plan community, waiting too long can make you ineligible to join. Not only is it no longer a choice, but neither are the other retirement community choices that require independence.
Long-term care insurance also requires good health.
Long-term care insurance is another example that can disappear quickly with the diagnosis of certain health conditions or diseases. It can make you ineligible for the policy. The cost also rises with each year a decision is delayed.
If you’re exploring ways to protect your retirement savings and plan ahead for your own health care, don’t sit on the fence too long. We never know what’s around the bend. It can change everything.
Learn more about Life Care communities at an upcoming workshop near you. To speak to someone immediately, please contact Jackie Lusson, our corporate director of sales, at 623-236-3767.
