Need Senior Housing? Here’s How To Pay For It

Senior housing is a necessity that can be quite costly. Luckily, there are various ways to help pay for it so you or your loved ones can get the care they need.

Paying for Senior Housing via Private Sources

We’ll discuss how the government can help you cover senior housing or long-term care costs in a bit. Before we do, let’s look at some private sources of funding.

The most obvious private source is to pay for senior housing with your money. Is out-of-pocket funding ideal, especially if your funds are low?
Of course not, but it is extremely common since 90 percent of senior housing costs come from people themselves.

At this time, a dedicated program for assisted living from the federal government doesn’t exist. Until it does, more and more people will have to fork over their hard-earned cash for long-term care. You can get help from the government in other ways, though, as we’ll show later on.

Beyond private funds, you can also purchase long-term care insurance through a company or your employer. You can use this insurance to reduce your out-of-pocket expenses for nursing facilities or home care. The cost of such policies varies according to factors such as age, the benefit value and period, the deductible, and more.

Speaking of insurance, some people like to sell existing life insurance policies to third parties. These “life settlements” can then be used to pay for senior housing or whatever else you need. When selling the life insurance policy, the value of the sale will be restricted. It can be higher than the cash surrender value, but it cannot exceed the death benefit.

Can you get a loan to pay for senior housing? Provided you pass the credit requirements, you can in a popular arrangement called a “senior living line of credit.”

With this loan, you can get up to $50,000 to pay for senior housing until you get the cash to pay for it yourself. When can such a loan come in handy? If you have to sell a senior’s house or assets or are waiting for federal benefits to go through. The line of credit can help cover costs until everything gets squared away.

Paying for Senior Housing With Help From the Government

If you don’t have the means to pay for senior housing via the private options listed above, the government may help.

Should you qualify, two federal government health insurance programs can fund at least a portion of your senior housing costs. Medicare helps seniors over 65, regardless of income. Its Part A benefits can be used to pay for nursing facilities, hospice care, care at home, etc. Medicaid, meanwhile, helps low-income individuals and families. It can help with costs linked to home care, nursing homes, or assisted-living communities.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is another senior housing payment option if you’re over 65 or disabled and have a financial need. Part of your monthly check can be used to cover senior housing in some cases.

Lastly, veterans and surviving spouses can pay for senior housing and long-term care through the Aid and Attendance Program. If you qualify, you can use these benefits to receive care in your home or cover at least a portion of the nursing home and assisted living costs.