I have a question about Credit and a Retirerment Home?

Credit should not be a factor. You pay based on the cost of level of service/care you would need, I believe they call them assisted living facilities which is different from a nursing home due to the level of care/services provided, they are not as skilled. In these facilities you have a base rate you pay monthly and that could increased depending upon the level of care/services you are requesting, (ie: assistance with cooking/housekeeping, laundry, bathing, medication administration, etc....).

From what I have learned as a social work major, mostly for retirement homes you pay cash. I agree with steelers that credit should not be a factor. However I know at least here in Ohio that most assisted livings-at least the ones we investigated in class-are relatively expensive. The ones we visited were very nice and a great alternative to nursing homes and offer more features as opposed to living alone. It is never too early to think about or plan for retirement.

They can begin at $1500/mo, and like I said, depending on the level of care/services you are requesting that monthly cost could go higher.They typically are not covered by medicaid, but once you spend what assets you have then you would qualify for medicaid to cover the costs. I have had quite of few clients I helped place in these types of homes and some with money who had to spend every penny of their savings before getting govt. assistance.

Very good info ladies! That's definitely a topic I don't think I've seen mentioned here before - credit and nursing/retirement homes.

Sue, I have never seen it mentioned either and I am glad that someone brought it up. Unfortunately none of us are getting any younger and these are things that we may have to consider down the road. I wish I had started saving for retirement before I got married and I had plenty of money to blow and that is exactly what I did. What do I have to show for it? Years of car payments for cars that are long gone, tons of cd's, shoes, clothes.....I don't know all that much about retirement but like I said we talked a lot about the cost of retirement homes, assisted living, skilled nursing, etc. in my social work classes and I am glad that I was able to contribute to the topic. :) And thanks to Steelers too because I didn't know that once you have no money left that Medicaid would actually help with assisted living.

Steelers is a FONT of info - I bow to the queen! (sorry, Steelers, I had to. GRIN) :D

My grandmother had a widow's pension from a railroad company, a small gas well payment every year, and an annuity from the National Forest Service - not to mention Social Security. And she still had to be on Medicaid to help pay for the nursing home she was in, in a semi-private room. Steelers is SO right - it's very expensive.

Sass, you bring up a very valid point - retirement is something everyone has to think about, whether they work at McDonald's or Christie's Auction House. And the younger you think about it, the better. However, hard financial times can really put a hurting on your retirement planning if you can't afford to contribute to your employer's retirement plan.