Advice about Retirement Communities

Consumers urged to choose continuing-care retirement communities cautiously
The New York Times (9/16, F5, Olson) reports that there are "about 1,900 aging-in-place operations" in the US, with large concentrations in "California, Florida, the Midwest and the mid-Atlantic states," which provide "homes for 900,000 people." Only a few "of the communities -- about 80 percent of which are operated by nonprofit organizations -- have closed or gone bankrupt." But there are concerns "rising about their financial stability, entrance fees and how the fees are used, and reduced services." Governmental inquiries "at several levels have voiced concerns and called on the communities' operators to disclose more information about their finances to residents and prospective customers." Even a GAO report released this summer warns consumers that "choosing to enter a continuing-care retirement community 'can be a difficult decision and is not without significant financial and other risks.'"