Retirement Finances: Understanding Independent Living Costs

When you’re looking at senior living options, you’ll learn all the great benefits that an independent living community can provide.

You’ll have access to the community’s amenities and services, live a maintenance-free lifestyle, and have a community of your peers so you can expand your social circle.

With all the beneficial aspects of senior living, you may think about how much it’s going to cost. Independent living costs vary depending on where you’re living and what kind of community you join.

Types of Independent Living

There are different types of communities where you can enjoy the independent living lifestyle. It’s important to know what these communities offer so you can select the one that suits you best.

Continuing Care Retirement Community

Also known as a Life Plan Community, a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) will have different levels of care on campus. When you move into the independent living community, you’ll have access to the higher levels of care should you need it. This can include:

* Assisted Living
* Memory Care
* Rehabilitation
* Skilled Nursing

This can provide you with much peace of mind because if you need more care than what independent living can offer, you’re still in the same community and you’ll know the people providing you with long term care.

Independent Living Community

An independent living community may not offer other health services like assisted living or memory care but still have the perks of a senior community. This includes programming for fun activities and events, home maintenance services, and dining options. These communities are designed to promote your autonomy.

Senior Apartments

There are apartment complexes that are only for older adults aged 55+. They can offer a lifestyle that’s similar to an independent living community, but their offerings can be more limited.

While residents live in their own apartments, there are communal areas to encourage socialization and connection. There may be some social programming that residents can enjoy, depending on the community.

Monthly Independent Living Costs

When you live in an independent living community, you’ll pay a monthly fee to cover the costs of what the community offers. While independent communities are all different, your monthly fee will likely cover costs like:

• Type of Housing (Look at the different floor plans offered in the community)
• Amenities
• Programming (Social events, clubs and organizations, continuing education classes)
• Meals (Some communities may have multiple dining options that include fine dining, casual dining, bistros, and coffee shops)
• Maintenance
• Yardwork
• Utilities (Including Internet and cable)
• Transportation
• Housekeeping

The monthly cost can depend on what the community offers to ensure you live the ideal retirement lifestyle. You can look at the community’s amenities and services, along with its wellness programs and social calendar to see if they offer a robust schedule.

Entrance Fees for Independent Living

If you move into a continuing care retirement community, you’ll pay an entrance fee in addition to monthly fees. This is an upfront cost that covers your priority access to the community’s full continuum of care.

Depending on the type of contract you have, paying the entrance fee can mean that you won’t have to pay for your future health care costs if your needs change.

Determining the cost of living in your retirement community can be difficult to do on your own. We encourage seniors to use the MoneyGauge Financial Fit Tool to get an idea of what their retirement could cost.

Extra Costs of Independent Senior Living

Location can also determine independent senior living costs, just as an apartment or house in a metropolitan area will cost more than in a more remote area. If you’re looking at independent living communities in large cities, they will have higher costs of living when compared to communities in more rural areas.

When considering the cost of independent living communities, you don’t have to be right in the heart of a city to have access to all the fun and excitement a city provides. Looking just outside of these major areas can give you the best of both worlds: a quieter, more spacious community that offers transportation to the city, and you won’t be paying the cost of living in the city.

A community with a lot of on-site services and amenities can cost more than other communities. A bigger community may have amenities like a fitness center, salon, spa, chapel, and community store. It will likely cost more to pay the staff and keep the services and programs readily available to residents.

As you can see, there’s a variety of senior living options for different budgets and needs. No matter what type of community you choose, most seniors agree that they wish they’d made the move sooner.

Experience Independent Living at Ginger Cove

Ginger Cove provides the best of independent living. With robust programming, social clubs, and amenities like our art studio, woodworking shop, and indoor heated pool, our residents lead active and engaging lives where every day holds something new.

Residents get to enjoy the beautiful natural surroundings of the community along Gingerville Creek. There’s so much outdoor space to explore, and residents can take advantage of the walking paths, private gardens, outdoor patio, and private dock.

As a Life-Care Community, you enter independent living with the knowledge that higher levels of care are available if you require them. Ginger Cove offers assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing. Everything you need is in your community.

With this peace of mind, you can live your ideal retirement without worry. Like many residents, you’ll be happy to call Ginger Cove your home.

Give us a call at 410-670-7793 to learn more about making the move to a vibrant independent living lifestyle at Ginger Cove.