According to the CMHC survey the average rent of the standard space in the retirement home increased by 3.9% to $3,999 in the province of Ontario. The cost of a retirement community will vary depending on the level of care required and the location of the community.
Residences in the province of Ontario also provide a lot of care options which will impact the retirement home costs. The retirement homes offer support services for different conditions. The costs of dementia care and memory care is usually high. Families can significantly reduce the average monthly cost of the stay by purchasing the personal services externally.
Many patients who need memory care prefer a residence at a long term care home but there can be a long wait time before a spot can be available at a desirable location. In cases where there is a waitlist to get a spot in a long term care facility, families choose a retirement home which provides Alzheimer and Dementia private care. The average monthly cost at a retirement residence along with memory care in the greater Toronto area is close to CAD 6500 per month. The cost of memory care is less in the cities far from the major city centers as the real estate costs are less compared to major metropolitan areas. The average cost of the location in the small city in Ontario is close to CAD 4000.
Families who are waiting for a spot in a long term care facility decide to request home care service. Home care provides an alternate inexpensive option for the families who cannot afford a retirement home for a family member in a large city closer to the primary home of the family. The cost of the home care service depends on the rates of the home care providers hired to provide the service. The rate varies from $30 to $40 per hour. You can also request the service via CareReq in the Halton region. The cost of home care via CareReq is 30 % less compared to other home care providers in the region, which can help in reducing the overall cost of the stay at the assisted living facility.
After the rent, the cost of the personal care care services is the second largest expense for a resident of an assisted facility. The residents of the residence facility are provided assistance with below services.
As per the RHA (Retirement Home Act) the retirement facility should make at least 2 from the above 13 services available to its residents. There can be extra fees for the senior care services which are provided by the facility. The residents have a choice to purchase the care service from the retirement home or can access the care externally via government or private pay.
In some instances personal care services which are required by the family member can be significantly inexpensive if they are purchased outside the assisted living facility. CareReq provides the personal care service to the residents which is 30 % less expensive. Individuals can request the service via the app or online and support can be available within 24 hours. This removes the hassle of completing the background check, training and finding the right professional for the family member. Home care professionals can provide support with daily living activities like bathing, clothing, meal preparation, feeding. If you want to know more about the services available by CareReq and how we can help reduce the financial cost for the personal care services please feel free to contact us.
Retirement homes provide different options to stay active and provide a fulfilling social life. Some of the common activities are music nights, cards night, yoga sessions, happy hours. Residences also provide transportation service for public events like trips to the mall, casino etc. and for private appointments. The cost of seniors participating in social activities and transportation services is on average $ 200 per month.
Payment for the retirement home is managed by private pay. The individuals themselves or family members contribute to pay the monthly cost for the stay at the retirement community. The rate for the retirement home is not set by the government, the monthly rate is set by the facility itself. You need to do some financial planning for the services which you plan to obtain while you stay at the retirement residence.
Below are some of the options which can be used to plan for the payment of the services and rent.
There are two types of government pensions which are available to the seniors living in Canada. CPP and OAS.
Currently people receive an average $700 on a monthly basis. Individual’s monthly amount might vary depending on your personal factors.
Old age security is available to Canadians at the age of 65. There are additional supplements funding like GIS (Guaranteed Income Supplement), Allowance and Allowance for the survivor which seniors can receive in addition to OAS. There are specific conditions for each of the funding which needs to be met in order to obtain the funding.
There are different Insurance options which are available to seniors. These can pay for the services and rent for the stay at an assisted living facility.
Long term care Insurance: LTC insurance covers most of the expenses which your provincial insurance plan doesn’t cover. Individuals can receive the tax free payments for services such as personal and home care services (assistance with daily activities like bathing,clothing), care by certified nurses or Therapy. It can cover the expenses for services while living at home, retirement residences or long term care facilities.
Annuity: Annuity is an insurance contract issued and distributed by financial institutions with the intention to pay fixed income streams to individuals over the course of their lifetime. Annuities help to provide steady income to retirees and alleviate the fears of outliving the assets. Annuities can begin immediately or can be deferred to a later date depending on the annuity contract. This can be a good option for some of the individuals who want to eliminate the risk of outliving the assets but want to maintain the same standard of living.
There are multiple tax benefits which can be claimed to reduce your over cost. The age tax benefit is available to anyone who is older than 65 years of age and makes less than $90313 (2021) on your annual tax return.
Tax free home care service: If you are eligible for the government benefit for even few hours of personal care service, you can be eligible for tax free.
