How to Pay for Assisted Living: Traditional and Creative Solutions
A parent’s loving care for their child is priceless. Paying for assisted living to care for aging parents, on the other hand, can come with substantial costs associated.
Help Paying For Assisted Living
Of course, our loved ones are worth every effort we can make for them, but bills can send you into a spiral if you’re not careful. It’s hard to know how to proceed when you need help paying for assisted living but don’t know your options. Wouldn’t it be easier if your mom and dad had a savings “senior living fund” in their savings?
How To Pay For Assisted Living
If you’ve been spending your free time attempting to figure out how to pay for assisted living, remember: You will figure out a way forward. Countless others have found a way to get their loved ones the care they need, and you can, too.
Creative Ways To Pay For Assisted Living
Let’s walk through some tried-and-true funding approaches. While some are more traditional, we’ll also introduce you to creative ways to pay for assisted living, so you can keep calm and help your loved one pay for the care they require.
Ways to fund senior care
Elder care costs can run into the thousands per month. Senior living cost expert Genworth Financial reports that the average monthly bill for assisted living is $5,350. Hiring in-home care won’t save money, either costing, hundreds more on average.
Nursing homes can cost even more — the sticker shock can be quite intense!
Once you and your loved one have decided on their needs, it’s time to take stock. If care takes place at home, they will need to buy more equipment than they would if they moved to a community. Making a pro/con list for each preferred care environment is a great place to start.
Tried-and-true funding sources
Now, once those pro/con lists are complete, how do you pay for senior living?
Any of the following options, or a combination, can help you cover the cost of senior care each month.
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Life settlement
Your relative may be able to sell her life insurance policy in exchange for a lump sum that can be used to pay for assisted living. Be sure to find out if selling their policy will disqualify them from receiving Medicaid assistance!
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Long-term care insurance
If your parent has one of these policies, now’s the time to put it to work for them. This insurance covers long-term care expenses, including assisted living, by offering payments directly to the facility or as reimbursements.
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Medicare
While this government-funded health insurance program will not pay for room and board at an assisted living facility, it may help pay for some associated services, provided your loved one is eligible — and provided the assisted living facility accepts Medicare.
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Personal savings and retirement funds
Many people use their savings, retirement accounts (including IRAs, 401(k)s, or pensions), and other assets (annuities, investments) to cover the costs of assisted living.
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Reverse mortgage
Anyone over 62 can borrow against the equity in their home to pay for assisted living — no monthly payments necessary! Instead, the loan payment is due with interest when the owner refinances, sells the house, moves out or passes away.
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Social Security
People often ask us, “Will Social Security pay for assisted living?” It’s a form of income that can be used to pay for assisted living, at least in part. Since the average monthly benefit is currently a little over $1,900, it will only cover a portion of a monthly assisted living payment.
A creative way to pay for assisted living: AutoGive
All of the above options are designed to help cover a sizeable portion of the monthly costs of assisted living. What if a sizeable amount remains?
This is where AutoGive shines — we’re proud to be one of the most creative ways to pay for assisted living on the market.
AutoGive is simple: You can invite family and friends to band together and lovingly support your loved one by collectively paying for the remainder of their monthly elder care bills through private donations.
Let’s imagine that you’re caring for your aging father. After factoring in all the possible funding sources mentioned above, you still have a remaining balance of $2,000 every month to pay for his in-home nurse. If you enlist 20 friends and relatives to commit to paying $100 every month toward his care through AutoGive, that would offset your out-of-pocket expenses completely.
You can post private updates to the group so members can keep current about dad’s condition, needs, and expenses. Even better, you can spend more time helping your loved ones than worrying about money.
Create your group today, and discover the joy that comes with this kind of collective care. It’s convenient, simple and powerful.
