Can I Afford to Move to a CCRC?

A Continuing Care Retirement Community, often called a CCRC or Life Plan Community, can sound like the perfect answer for a solo ager: one move, one community, and a plan for future care if health needs change. But a CCRC is also one of the largest financial commitments many retirees will ever make. It can involve a large entrance fee, ongoing monthly fees, future care charges, annual increases, and complicated refund rules. For solo agers, the question is not simply, “Can I afford to move in?” The better question is, “Can I afford to stay, receive care, and still protect my independence if costs rise or my health changes?”

A CCRC is a senior living community that generally offers several levels of care on one campus: independent living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing care. The central promise is continuity. You move in while you are still independent, and if your care needs increase later, you may be able to receive more support without moving to an entirely unfamiliar place. The National Investment Center describes CCRCs as age-restricted properties that generally include independent living, assisted living, memory care, and nursing care on one campus.

That promise can be very attractive, especially for solo agers. If you do not have adult children nearby, or if you do not want your children to become your default care managers, a CCRC may provide structure, community, meals, transportation, maintenance, social connection, and access to higher levels of care.

But the promise comes with a price.

Most CCRCs require an entrance fee plus a monthly fee. Entrance fees can vary widely depending on location, apartment size, contract type, refund provisions, and care promises. Some contracts offer no refund or a declining refund. Others guarantee a partial refund or a high refund to your estate. Generally, the more generous the refund, the higher the entrance fee.

The monthly fee is just as important as the entrance fee. It may cover some meals, utilities, housekeeping, maintenance, activities, transportation, wellness programs, and access to care. But it may not cover everything. Extra meals, additional housekeeping, higher levels of care, medication management, personal aides, therapy, or memory care may cost more.

That is why the first affordability test is not, “Can I write the entrance fee check?” It is, “Can I comfortably pay the monthly fee for the rest of my life, even if it rises faster than expected?”

The care-cost comparison matters. CareScout’s 2025 Cost of Care data reported a national median assisted living cost of $6,200 per month, or $74,400 per year, and a national median private nursing home room cost of $355 per day, or $129,575 per year. These numbers are not CCRC prices, but they show why future care planning is so important. If a CCRC contract truly limits your exposure to higher care costs, it may offer financial protection. If it simply gives you access to higher care at market rates, the protection may be less than you think.

There are several types of CCRC contracts. A Type A, or life care contract, usually has the highest entrance fee and monthly fee, but may include more future care with smaller increases when you move to assisted living or skilled nursing. A Type B contract may include some care, but not unlimited care. A Type C contract, often called fee-for-service, may have a lower entry cost but charges more when care is needed. Rental models may avoid a large entrance fee, but future care costs may be less predictable.

For a solo ager, the contract type can matter as much as the community itself. A beautiful apartment and friendly dining room do not make a bad contract safe.

You also need to study the financial health of the community. You are not just renting an apartment. You are relying on the organization to remain financially strong enough to provide services for years or decades. CARF’s consumer guide for Life Plan Communities highlights the importance of understanding services, housing options, fee structures, financial performance, and the questions consumers should ask before choosing a community.

Ask for audited financial statements. Ask about occupancy rates. Ask whether the community has debt. Ask whether it has a history of large monthly fee increases. Ask how it funds health care services. Ask whether it has a benevolent fund for residents who outlive their money. Ask how many residents receive assistance from that fund, and what rules apply.

This is not being difficult. This is basic self-protection.

Here is a simple affordability framework.

First, separate your money into three buckets. Bucket one is the entrance fee. Bucket two is your reliable income, such as Social Security, pension income, annuity income, and conservative portfolio withdrawals. Bucket three is your reserve fund for emergencies, inflation, medical costs, dental care, hearing aids, family needs, travel, taxes, and future surprises.

A CCRC becomes dangerous when the entrance fee consumes too much of bucket three, or when the monthly fee consumes too much of bucket two.

Second, stress test the monthly fee. Assume the monthly fee rises every year. Many retirees focus on the first-year cost and forget that a $5,000 monthly fee can become much higher over time. Ask the community for its last 10 years of monthly fee increases. Then run your own test using increases of 4 percent, 5 percent, and 6 percent per year.

Third, look at what happens if one thing goes wrong. What if your portfolio drops 25 percent? What if you need private-duty aides for several hours a day? What if your long-term care insurance does not cover what you expected? What if you need memory care? What if your spouse or partner dies and one Social Security check disappears? What if you want to move out?

Fourth, understand the refund rules. If you pay a large entrance fee, how much is refundable? When is it refundable? Is the refund paid when you leave, when you die, or only after your unit is resold? Can the community deduct costs before paying the refund? Your estate plan may depend on these answers.

For solo agers without children, a CCRC can be a powerful planning tool. It can reduce the risk of isolation, provide a built-in social environment, and create a more organized path if care needs increase. But it should not be your only plan. You still need a financial power of attorney, health care proxy, HIPAA release, updated will or trust, digital asset plan, emergency contacts, and someone outside the community who can advocate for you.

For solo agers with children, a CCRC can also help protect family relationships. Adult children may still be involved, but they may not have to coordinate every repair, meal, ride, care aide, or emergency decision. However, children should not be allowed to push a move simply because it makes their lives easier. The decision must still fit your finances, values, location preferences, health needs, and independence.

One hidden issue is control. Some people thrive in a CCRC. They love the convenience, friendships, activities, meals, and security. Others feel boxed in. Before signing, spend time there. Eat several meals. Talk privately with residents. Ask what they wish they had known. Visit the assisted living and skilled nursing areas, not just the independent living apartments.

The most important rooms to inspect are not the lobby and model apartment. They are the care areas you may need later.

A CCRC may be affordable if you can pay the entrance fee without draining your reserves, handle monthly fees with room for increases, understand the care contract, protect your estate plan, and still maintain outside emergency funds. It may not be affordable if the move depends on optimistic investment returns, selling your home at a perfect price, ignoring future fee increases, or assuming your health will remain stable.

The goal is not to scare you away from CCRCs. For some solo agers, they are a wise, humane, and practical choice. The goal is to make sure you are buying security, not just an expensive illusion of security.

• Identify the contract type: Type A, Type B, Type C, rental, equity, or another model.
• Ask for the entrance fee, monthly fee, second-person fee, care fees, meal costs, and extra service charges in writing.
• Request the last 10 years of monthly fee increases.
• Ask what happens financially if you move from independent living to assisted living, memory care, or skilled nursing.
• Review the refund rules carefully, including timing, deductions, resale requirements, and estate payout rules.
• Ask for audited financial statements, occupancy rates, debt information, and reserve fund information.
• Ask whether there is a resident assistance or benevolent fund, and what rules apply.
• Visit all levels of care, not just the independent living area.
• Speak privately with current residents and, if possible, family members of residents who needed higher care.
• Have an elder law attorney or qualified financial advisor review the contract before signing.
• Stress test affordability using higher monthly fees, lower investment returns, and future care needs.
• Keep a cash reserve outside the CCRC arrangement.
• Update your power of attorney, health care proxy, HIPAA release, will or trust, and emergency contact plan before moving.
• For solo agers without children, name an outside advocate who can monitor your care and finances.
• For solo agers with children, clarify what role your children will and will not play after the move.