In every community in every city and town assisted living centers are popping up on every corner. At 100 Year Lifestyle we refer to these as retirement account black holes. A black hole is defined as a place where people or things, especially money, disappear without a trace. Let us explain.
Statistics
There are approximately 28,900 assisted living communities with nearly 1 million licensed beds in the United States today. The U.S. assisted living facility market size was valued at USD 87.4 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 5.48% between 2022 and 2030.
Blindsided
The exponential growth of these assisted living centers is particularly true in the US, but not necessarily in every country. Is this because people, particularly Americans, are living longer than ever? No. It’s because seniors today have been blindsided by their longevity. They did not necessarily know during the course of their lives how to live to ensure quality of life— physically, mental, financially, or socially.
Many of them ate the Standard American Diet, lived relatively sedentary lives, followed medical trends, and fell victim to medical system failures. As a result, today many of these people are suffering from chronic lifestyle illnesses. These illnesses are not a result of genetics. These illnesses are lifestyle illnesses based on choices made and include polypharmacy, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and obesity, just to name a few. The cost of your choices today will truly be felt in many ways for many years to come.
For a Fee
Assisted living facilities have become so popular because they fill a need. As these individuals facing lifestyle illnesses age they will likely face a time when living alone is no longer possible. Daily living tasks become challenging. Assisted living facilities offer a variety of options when it comes to caring for the person and their living environment—all for a fee.
That fee is, for most, excessive. The nationwide average monthly fee in the US is $4,051 per month. Depending on where you live, prices can start at $2,500 and go up from there, per person. These costs are draining the financial resources of this generation, and their family members. The situation is quickly becoming the black hole that too many of us will be unable to avoid.
By Design
These assisted living centers were designed to be a literal black hole. The people who enter rarely return to their homes. While many do leave assisted care, it is almost always to progress to a skilled nursing facility where even greater care is given at a greater cost. Instead of enjoying a long, healthy, and independent life and dying in their homes surrounded by their family and friends, they live out their days in the care of paid strangers.
They often use their entire life savings paying for this care. Saving accumulated with the expectation that they would enjoy a quality of life in their later years and then pass along a legacy to their children.
Draining Everyone
Actually, all too frequently, the black hole requires family members to provide financial support to pay for their loved ones expenses. It is all too common for children, grandchildren, and other relatives to pool income to cover the costs of aging family members in assisted living centers. In fact, most families use private funds to pay for assisted living.
Assisted living centers, created as a result of bad lifestyle choices, are draining the resources of this and future generations. No one involved wins in this scenario. Their life plan is not playing out the way they expected.
Don’t Become a Statistic
You, we all, can make the choice right now to live differently. That’s what the 100 Year Lifestyle is all about. You are getting advance notice to make healthy lifestyle choices, keep your nervous system healthy, and plan for a future that will give you longevity, quality of life, and independence.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there is a 70% chance that an American age 65 or older will need long-term care at some point. Don’t let yourself become a statistic.
You Choose
Find the information you need in the pages of the 100 Year Lifestyle website to start creating your 100 Year Lifestyle. Begin living 100:100, 100% for 100 years, today. A good start is to find a 100 Year Lifestyle provider to assist you on every step of your journey. You can chose your path in life. You can determine the quality of your life today, and tomorrow.
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