Retirement doesn’t come cheap if it comes at all. Almost half of Americans — 49 percent — cite running out of money as their chief retirement concern, with another 44 percent citing declining health, according to a new report from the Aegon Center for Longevity, Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies and Instituto de Longevidade Mongeral Aegon (Brazil).
Only 36 percent of American workers are very confident they will be able to retire comfortably.
Today I asked how much a single room in assisted living costs for someone who needs full-time care and they told me that a private room costs at least $11,000 a month.
That’s $132,000 a year.
Wow, don’t ever get old, I guess.
— holly (@girlziplocked) January 19, 2020
People of all ages have a right to be concerned.
Houston Area Man Does the Math
Terry Robison of Spring, Texas, 64, worked out a detailed price comparison between assisted living and checking into the Holiday Inn permanently. The mid-priced hotel chain appeared to win out by a landslide.
No nursing home for us. We’ll be checking into a Holiday Inn!
With the average cost for a nursing home care around $188.00 per day, there is a better way when we get old and too feeble.
I’ve already checked on reservations at the Holiday Inn. For a combined long term stay discount and senior discount, it’s $59.23 per night.
Breakfast is included, and some have happy hours in the afternoon.That leaves $128.77 a day for lunch and dinner in any restaurant we want, or room service, laundry, gratuities and special TV movies.
Plus, they provide a spa, swimming pool, a workout room, a lounge and washer-dryer, etc.
Robison also likes that Holiday Inn treats you like a customer.
Chillin’ at the Inn
The desire to chill at the Holiday Inn instead of a facility for the aged and infirm does make sense from a brand perspective.
Holiday Inn also has 1,173 active hotels. One could potentially move from place to place to keep things interesting.
Making Reservations Is Not the Same As Making A Plan
Not everyone thinks retiring at the Inn is a good idea. Aging expert, Dr. Sara Zeff Geber, for instance. She reminds that anyone turning 65 today has almost a 70% chance of needing long-term care at some point in their remaining years.
Writing in Forbes, Geber says:
If you don’t like any of the traditional options, take a look at senior co-housing or other types of intentional communities. The important factor in all of this is to stay connected to people, continue to have a meaningful life, and be safe. There are lots of good options at many price points, but it will take some realistic thinking, soul-searching, and diligence to discover what will work best for each of us.
Did you know that nearly one-quarter of Americans say they plan to never retire? The federal government reported that 19.2 percent of people aged 65 and over were employed, as of September 2018. That’s tied for the highest rate since 1962, and it’s nearly double the level of the mid-1980s.
