Continuing Care Retirement Communities

It is relatively expensive to live in a CCRC. Data show that most individuals choosing CCRC's are in the middle- or upper-income bracket. Cost can be based on the type of contract negotiated, the size of apartment, and the services and amenities received. According to AARP, entry fees can range from $20,000 to $400,000, with monthly payments ranging from $200 to $2,500. AAHSA (1999) found that entry fees ranged from $34,000 for a studio apartment to $439,000 for a two bedroom home. The range of monthly fees was $1,383 for a single resident to $4,267 for a couple.

Whether or not one receives a refund of the entry fee, either for choosing to leave the community or upon one's death (in which case, a person's estate would receive the refund) depends on the particular CCRC. Organizations usually establish one of three types of refunds: declining scale, partial refund, or full refund. With a declining scale refund, the longer an individual stays at a facility, the more the entry fee refund decreases. With the partial refund option, a percentage of the fee will be refunded within a particular time period, after which there will be no refund. Full refunds are not generally available, though some CCRCs with high entry fees do offer them.