by Peter Wechsler
President & Co-Founder, Franklin Retirement Solutions
[email protected]
It’s Easter weekend, so there’s no sense in ruining what’s expected to be a warm, rain-free holiday weekend… by talking about the markets. Chaos—specifically tariff chaos—continues to drive them. We’re all waiting to see what happens next. If you’re thinking about lightening your stock and fund portfolio, let us know—we’re happy to work with you.
What I really wanted to talk about is what seems to have become my “rite of passage”: getting invited to lunches at CCRCs, or Continuing Care Retirement Communities. Think of a few of the big ones in this area—ACTS Estates, Ann’s Choice, Rydal Park, Masonic Home, Normandy Farms, Foulkeways at Gwynedd, and The Hill at Whitemarsh, to name a few.
This is now what fills up my mailbox every week. It reminds me of when I was approaching 65 and the avalanche of Medicare flyers started rolling in.
With so few people buying long-term care insurance, many folks I talk to are worried—worried that they or their spouse might need assisted living or skilled care and won’t have the money to cover it. That fear often ties into a larger concern: running out of money in old age.
Unlike even ten years ago, many CCRCs now offer multiple ways to buy into or move into to their communities. With some programs, progressive care is included. In other plans, should you spend down all your money in assisted living or skilled care, the benevolent fund of the community funds your care and you don’t have to move.
Assuming they’re in decent health, I usually start pushing folks to consider a CCRC when the youngest turns 80, for two reasons. First, to get into a CCRC, you need to be in decent health, so you qualify for independent living. The second is that the older you get, the less energy you have to make such a huge change in your life.
I might just take advantage of the invitations I keep getting. So If you call me around lunchtime and I don’t answer, know that I may be at Ann’s Choice, ACTS Springhouse Estates, or some other CCRC… enjoying my free lunch.
Enjoy the Easter weekend and spring!
Peter