When exploring senior living options, prospective residents often feel overwhelmed. Decisions must account for many factors: location, contract terms and cost, quality, amenities, available care services, and more.
The internet has made researching communities—such as continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs), also known as life plan communities—much easier. Still, it’s common to have unanswered questions that are essential to making a confident, well-informed choice. This decision will affect your daily life, so it’s important to gather the information you need.
A practical step is to make a list of questions and organize them by topic—cost, contract terms, facilities, management, and services, for example. If you’re comfortable with technology, using a Word document or spreadsheet can help keep your notes tidy and ensure you address every concern during visits and conversations with community staff.
Free guide with CCRC questions
To help you prepare, we created a free resource titled “Top 10 Questions Prospective Residents of a CCRC Should Ask.” This guide highlights essential questions you should have answered and explains why each matters. Note: because this list was compiled before the COVID-19 pandemic, consider adding questions about the community’s current health and safety protocols.
Below is a preview of topics covered in the guide:
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What is the ratio of independent living residences to assisted living and skilled care units?
Some CCRCs consist mainly of independent living units with relatively few assisted living or skilled nursing beds. A low proportion of care units can raise concerns about access to timely care as residents’ needs change. This is particularly relevant for newer communities where few residents currently require higher levels of care.
Conversely, some CCRCs evolved from existing nursing facilities and added independent residences over time, which can result in a higher proportion of residents already needing care. Typically, independent living units make up about 60–75 percent of total residences, but this balance varies and is worth confirming.
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How have your monthly fees changed over the last five years?
Knowing historical fee changes serves two purposes: it helps you forecast future costs for budgeting, and it reveals how well the community manages its finances. In the senior living industry, fee increases of roughly 3–4 percent per year are common. If you see larger spikes in certain years, ask what caused them. Request year-by-year fee history for the past three to five years rather than a single average, so you can judge actual trends and volatility.
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What is the experience level of your management team and board of directors?
An experienced leadership team is crucial to sustaining operational quality and sound financial practices. Ask about the management team’s backgrounds and their track records in running continuing care communities. Also review the board of directors: a strong board will be professionally and culturally diverse and include members with expertise in healthcare, hospitality, finance, and real estate.
>> Related: How Senior Living is Evolving to Meet Future Demand
Educate yourself
Choosing the right senior living option is a significant life decision. Gathering thorough information will help, but it’s normal to feel a bit overwhelmed by the details. Start with the basics and focus on the most important issues for your situation.
Reviewing the 10 topics in our free guide is a sensible first step. Those questions and explanations will give you a clearer understanding of the key issues to consider as you compare CCRCs and other senior living choices.