Long-term care is an uncomfortable topic to talk about. The truth is that most of us will need long-term care at some point. And it will come sooner than you think. About 70% of people over the age of 65 need long-term care services. Seriously? That’s less than 15 years for me. 2039 will be here in an instant.
I had a hard time writing this post. While researching LTC, I couldn’t finish any articles and video clips. This article is not exciting… Instead of sharing a bunch of statistics and options, I’ll just share my perspective on long-term care. Don’t worry, this will be short.
Self Financing
My long-term care plan is self-support. This means I will save and pay for long term care out of pocket. I will use my parent’s life as a guide.
My mother was independent until she was about 70 years old. At that time, he was diagnosed with dementia and needed some help. My father was her primary caregiver. It was easy at first, but it got really hard later. His condition worsened and he died at the age of 75. That’s faster than normal, but not unheard of.
As for my father, he is currently 78 years old. He is healthy and able to take care of himself.
Here is my plan for both situations.
Condition 1 – No dementia
In the first case, hope for the best and assume I won’t have dementia.
Many people choose to stay at home and hire a domestic helper when they need help. Currently, this costs about $6,000/month. Eventually, they will have to move into assisted living. The average monthly cost of a nursing home is about $9,000 per month.
Let’s imagine 10 years of assisted living at home and 3 years in a nursing home. That would be about a million dollars each. I don’t think we will spend that much money. Mrs RB40 and I can take care of each other at first. We probably need to budget about $1,500,000 for both of us. We should be able to afford that. Staying in the US is one of the options.
Other
However, I have another idea. I plan to find a good working community in Thailand and accept them. Here’s one I just saw. You can use closed captions to translate English.
The location is great (on the beach) and the place looks great. If you need more help, you can go into a long-term care unit. Room prices start at $60,000. I’m not sure how much they charge for long-term care and other essential services, though.
There are many communities like this being developed in Thailand. Their population is aging rapidly and the demand for retirement communities is increasing. The median age in Thailand is 40.1 years, older than in the US (38.5). If I can find the right community, I will move there in my 60s. It will be more affordable than a comparable facility in the US.
I got another one! Here is a 50+ luxury community under development – Aspen Tree. A one-bedroom condo costs about a million dollars for one person. This price is for a lifetime lease with all essential utilities. It sounds expensive, but it’s for lifetime care and services. For 2 people, it will cost about 1.3 million dollars. An Aspen tree is located near Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. That’s good because I want to go healthy. I will definitely check this place out next time I’m in town. The big question is long-term management. Will the system work well in 2060? What happens if the company (Magnolia Quality Development Corporation) goes out of business? The Aspen tree is part of a large project of 160 hectares – Foresias. There will be offices, condos, a hotel, a downtown, markets, a shopping mall, a forest center, a sports stadium and other buildings. It feels like a city within a city.
Condition 2 – Dementia
I hope I don’t get dementia. It is a terrible disease. However, I have a plan. If I have dementia, I don’t want to wait until I’m completely out of control. Mrs. RB40 will take me on a one-way trip to Switzerland before that happens. Here’s a story on NPR that really resonated with me. It will be difficult, but I am sure he can do it for me. I think Mrs. RB40 will be healthier and live longer than me.
Okay, what do you think of my ideas? I would love to live in an active 50+ community. Why not accept it early? What is your long-term care plan?
Photo credit: Nik
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A minimum wage is the key to early retirement. This year, Joe is investing in real estate with CrowdStreet. They have many projects all over the USA so check them out!
Joe also highly recommends Personal Capital for DIY investors. They have many useful tools to help you achieve financial independence.
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