Are your parents looking to downsize after their retirement? Or are you concerned about your elderly parent or loved one living on their own? If your family considers senior living options, your parent might enjoy the amenities in independent senior living. This kind of senior care option is best suited for fit and active elder people. Nevertheless, remember that whether the person lives in a senior living community or chooses to age at home, dental care services for seniors are still essential.
What Is Independent Living?
Independent communities, also called independent living or retirement communities, are any housing arrangement plan exclusively for older people, particularly those aged 55 and over.
Housing differs broadly, from apartment-style homes to single-family disengaged living. Mostly, independent living facilities are friendlier to senior adults, frequently being compressed, with simpler navigation and no upkeep or yard work to stress over.
While occupants live independently, most retirement communities offer activities and services. Regularly, recreational activities or clubhouses are accessible to provide you the chance to get along with others and participate in community activities like movie nights, arts and crafts, continuing education classes, or holiday gatherings.
Independent living facilities may provide amenities like a fitness center, swimming pool, tennis courts, even a golf club or other course. Other services offered may include stylish salons, nearby spas, and essential housekeeping and laundry services.
Unlike assisted living, independent senior living is for aged adults who need little or no assistance with various daily activities. Primarily, this type of senior care service does not provide nursing staff or medical care. However, you can recruit in-home assistance independently as necessary.
Independent Senior Living: Who Is a Good Candidate?
Independent living communities are intended for active senior people who want to maintain a free lifestyle and meet other seniors living in similar neighborhoods. Since it is different from assisted living and other types of senior care services, residents tend to be more active. Generally, these senior adults are in better health than seniors who choose to live with medical or personal care assistance.
While most independent senior living can accommodate people with various needs, you are a possible candidate in this type of senior communities if the following apply to you:
- Your present household has started to feel cumbersome to keep up
- Wanting to be liberated from housekeeping and maintenance obligations
- Keeping your independence as long as possible
- Ready to give up some exhausting job, such as clothing and home repairs, to another person
- No need for daily assistance, unlike in assisted living or skilled nursing facilities
- Wanting to have staff nearby to help you in case of an emergency
- Looking for a place with different services available like a salon, fitness center and so on
- You like socializing with other senior people and want to stay in a community of individuals who are in a similar life stage as you and will take part in community exercises
Benefits of Independent Senior Living
Independent living communities provide several advantages for seniors interested in living their life in a low-stress living. The following are some of the benefits you can get living in this type of senior care community.
Maintenance-Free Lifestyle
The community manages all kinds of housing maintenance and repairs. Occupants can say goodbye to mowing the lawn or repairing the damaged AC unit themselves while still living in well-maintained surroundings.
Socialization
Independent senior care services give common areas for inhabitants to assemble, arrange gathering activities, and communal dining to create strong connections. This can be particularly significant for aged people who live alone and struggle with isolation.
Safety and Protection
The security of occupants should be the main concern of any independent senior living. For the safety of the residents, many have 24-hour security or a bolted entryway and emergency features like fire suppression arrangements. Some may also use individual medical alert systems to quickly help seniors who encounter an accident or emergency.
Simplified Finances
Most independent living services provide a comprehensive lifestyle, implying that meals, amenities, and use of facilities are covered in one’s regular payment. This can significantly improve life for seniors who were formerly managing complicated funds and billing.
Convenience
Independent living networks provide various conveniences, including on-site facilities such as a fitness center, beauty salons, and ready and served meals. In addition, inhabitants live in a community of their friends, giving many choices to associating without needing to plan or travel.
Common Independent Living Facilities and Services
Even though independent senior care services do not provide personal or medical care assistance, they still offer residents different lifestyle amenities and services. Some of the most basic include:
- Interior maintenance and repairs
- Housekeeping services, such as laundry and other household chores
- Prepared meals served in a common eating area and on-site coffee shops
- Groundskeeping and upkeep of all outside and common territories for an aesthetically pleasing setting
- Transportation services for errands, arrangements, and more
- Arranged group outings for errands and fun, for example, going to the orchestra or taking a trip to a state park
- Prepared activities and occasions nearby, like going to concerts, visiting lecturers, and movie screenings
- On-site amenities such as a barbershop and beauty salon, dry cleaning pickup and delivery, and a convenience store or supermarket
- An on-site tennis courts, swimming pool, and fitness center, usually with group exercise programs
- Huge common facilities and gathering spaces for occupants to assemble or have friends and family for celebrations
Different Ways to Pay for Independent Living
Independent senior living does not manage medical and dental health services, and in this way, health insurance, such as Medicare and Medicaid, does not include the expense. Supposed the fee of independent living services is too high to consider paying using cash on hand. Different options are available to help diminish the weight of paying for this type of senior care facility. Here are some of the most common approaches to pay for independent living.
Reverse Mortgage Loans
Reverse home loans are a loan that one can take out against the worth of their main living place without promptly selling the house. This empowers older senior people to progress to independent living without experiencing rushed to bargain their home to manage the cost of their new community. All loanees should reimburse the reverse mortgage with interest once their house does sell.
Life Insurance
Even though not its planned purpose, it is imaginable to use one’s life insurance plan to pay for later-in-life costs like independent living. Some insurance agencies permit policyholders to get to their “death benefit” before death. However, the advantage will be of lesser rate. Others may decide to sell their insurance plan to a third party and get a cash settlement. Regardless of which highway one goes, it is critical to seriously consider the upsides and downsides of getting to one’s life insurance benefit early.
Long-Term Care Insurance
This type of payment option is almost certainly that long-term care (LTC) insurance will not include the complete expense of independent living. In any case, it might cover a portion of the services received in an independent senior community. For example, transportation assistance and prepared meals, bringing down your overall expense. Regardless of whether any independent living is included will rely upon the particular insurance policy.
Annuities
Annuities are an asset where an individual deposits a lump sum and gets booked, standard compensation outs throughout a particular timeframe. The advantage of annuities is that more senior adults realize that they will still have a set amount of cash coming in later in life. This cash frequently uses to pay for other expenses like living in an independent community.
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