LAGUNA WOODS – Diane Masson, 52, has worked in the senior housing industry for 17 years, both as corporate director of sales and regional marketing director. She wrote and published a book last spring, “Your Senior Housing Options,” after helping her mother find housing.
Q. Why did you write the book?
A. My passion has always been educating seniors on what their choices are. I find that most people don’t really understand that there is a need to look before there is a crisis. I just wanted to write the book to reach out to more seniors and educate them.
Q. What is the book about?
A. I cover everything from the seven deadly sins of searching for senior housing to options about what are the questions you should ask any place you are going to tour. Because when you walk in the door of a retirement community, you have no idea if it is a great retirement community or a mediocre one.
Q. Why should seniors plan ahead?
A. Seniors fall into one of two categories; either they are planning ahead or they are waiting for a health care crisis to happen. The ones that plan ahead are going out and having lunch at different retirement communities, they are checking out all their options, and a lot of those people end up having long-care insurance. Others are in denial and are waiting for a health care crisis before transitioning. For retirement communities, people need to plan ahead because there is a health and financial assessment in order to move in, but a lot of it gets down to what are the costs. A lot of people think it is cheaper living at home. But what they don’t realize is that 66 percent of all of us are going to need care at some point.
Q. What are the consequences of waiting too long?
A. If you plan ahead, then you can move into a retirement community. If you wait too long, then you end up moving into assisted living or skilled nursing. Those are the choices. Unless you want your children to put you someplace and make decisions for you, you should decide where you want to live. Financially, if you plan ahead and you move to a place that shares the risk for your future healthcare costs, it can cost you a lot less money in the long run. But if you wait, you end up having to pay as you go. If you live in a month-to-month rental facility and you outlive your resources then you will get to a point where they can kick you out.
For more information, free resources and a weekly blog by Masson, visitTips2Seniors.com
Read Full Article : http://www.ocregister.com/articles/ahead-684266-retirement-plan.html written by: Scott Bosco