Are Senior Living Homes your thing?

Written by Suresh Sadagopan

There is a glorious sunset beyond the mountains. The golden rays are caressing the face and there is a smile playing on the gentleman’s lips. The person in question is having a nice, tall glass in hand which looks like a Pina colada. He is reclining in a comfortable chair and is the picture of a person without a care in the world.

Welcome to assisted living!

Retirement, pension policies, retirement homes etc. are sold with brochures which have very happy people doing their thing. It is like facebook, almost! The persona there is what one want others to believe!

Be that as it may, let us see whether retirement homes are something one could consider, what are the merits and downers, their cost etc.

Second innings is long, very long! It is a fact that most people today, especially among the middle classes and upwards, will be living into their eighties and maybe into the nineties too. That will be a pretty long period after one stops working.

During this period, it may be difficult to manage one’s own home, may feel lonely most times as children would come to visit once in a while only, have problems paying bills and attending to home repairs & maintenance etc.

If you feel you did not sign up for this in retirement, there is a way out – Retirement homes – or assisted living as it is stylishly marketed.

What is a Retirement home and what are its positives?

A Retirement home is a place which has facilities for Senior citizens to live and the facility is maintained by the property developer or another agency.

The facilities include –

Living quarters that are maintained for the inmates; no sweeping, no dusting, nothing! Electrical, plumbing, leakage or any other issues are taken care of by the facility.
The property will be senior friendly and living spaces will have access to wheel-chairs, will have anti-skid flooring, will have grips in the bathroom, bedroom etc., will be lit appropriately to assist a senior citizen to maneuver without a problem…
Will have many facilities for recreation of inmates. Many such facilities have a club area where one could play carrom, cards and other games, they have jogging tracks and senior friendly gyms, some facilities have pools, meditation centres, temples etc.
Many places also have regular programs to keep the inmates happily engaged in various activities and cultural events. They have lectures, bhajan sessions, picnics once in a while, entertainment nites etc. These break the monotony and brings in a fun element.
Most such places are away from cities and hence are for the most part noise and pollution free. Also, they are not so far into the wilderness that access to the city is a problem. Most times, they are about a couple of hours away from the rail head or airport.
Canteen facilities for inmates – residents need not cook and can be very liberating for ladies, who otherwise can never retire from the drudgery of kitchen chores!
They have an inhouse doctor, regular checkups, ambulance facilities, nursing & caretaking staff, tie-ups with hospitals etc. Hence, medical needs are taken care of.
Some of these centres have general stores, coffee shops, bars, spa, parlours etc. where one may buy stuff or use the services on payment.

We have seen what could be the facilities in an assisted living centre and the advantages thereof. However, there could be downsides to it too.

Such facilities do not come very cheap. However, if one is very happy with the place, one has the option of selling their home they have elsewhere and channelizing the money here.
One will be paying for all facilities. But one may not be using many facilities like a gym and swimming pool.
When one comes to an assisted living centre, one will be uprooting from their known place, friends and relatives. This can be quite difficult, even traumatic for some.
Some people may find canteen food not agreeing with their constitution. Some of these places do not even have a kitchen and hence this can prove challenging
A senior citizen facility is not as homogenous as it is made out to be. For instance, a sixty year old may look at things differently from a eighty year old. It is not that all are on the same wavelength, just because they are all senior citizens.
When they are not well, they may be more comfortable staying in the vicinity of their friends and relatives. Visiting friends and relatives can be very comforting, which in an assisted living centre will not be possible, even though care is assured.
In spite of all the facilities, some people feel cut-off and bored at a facility like this.
Some people who are involved, even to some extent, in social, religious or professional work will find those opportunities lacking in a senior citizen home and may get a sense that they are wasting their time.

It is going to be a personal call as there are enough positives and negatives. One will have to evaluate whether such an assisted living centre is suitable or not.

Financing – One will normally have to buy the homes/ units here and pay a charge every month for maintenance, food and beverages etc. There are also schemes for paying 50-60% as refundable interest free deposit upfront and pay usage charges as one goes along. In many places, one can also rent out or lease the unit too and not necessarily buy them.

A felt need – Such centres are coming up rapidly across the country as many Seniors have children staying abroad and they live all by themselves.

There are supposedly over a 100 millions seniors in India in 2020 itself. Many do not want to stay with their children. Today many children are abroad and the seniors are not too comfortable there as they get stranded when their children go off for work and are dependent on them to go out.

Even within India, many choose to stay by themselves, to preserve their independence, stay in the place they are used to along with their friends, doing their thing. However, at a certain age, maintaining a home gets difficult and managing all the work and household chores becomes more than they can handle.

That is where an assisted living facility fits in. It is a secure environment that ensures a serene and safe environment for elders to live without a care. Many children are comfortable if their parents stay in assisted living places as they would be sure that their needs are well taken care of.

Geriatric care is already gaining traction around the world. As the elderly population moves up,

more and more such facilities can be expected to spring up to cater to different strata of the elderly.

One needs to pause and reflect about this. Assisted living will suit some temperaments, not all. Also, assisted living in the current form is suitable for the relatively well-off people only. But, considering the various benefits it confers, it is worth considering.

You may go through this blog – https://www.edenseniors.com/blogs/ ( some are promotional in nature; but then it also is informative which is why I have included it here )

To give you a feel of what kind of facilities are available, I’m enclosing some links to some such centres, for you to go through –

Gagan Nulife – Kamshet, near Lonavla, 90 kms from Mumbai – https://rb.gy/gqmuze

Aishwarya – Senior living homes – Coimbatore – https://rb.gy/4ve0dq

Ashiana – Senior Living –Multiple locations- https://www.ashianahousing.com/senior-living-india

Eden Senior Living – Dehradun – Uttarakhand – https://www.edenseniors.com/about-us/

Athulya Living – Chennai – http://www.athulyaliving.com/old-age-homes.php#home

I have covered a lot of topics including Retirement Planning in my book – If God was your Financial Planner. But assisted living is one topic I have not covered there. I do realize now that it is a conspicuous miss.