In case you missed it, on Tuesday, April 23, A Place for Mom, the largest senior-living referral service in North America, announced the findings from its 2018 Senior Living Cost Index. The annual report is designed to help families and seniors as they consider moving to retirement, assisted living or memory care communities.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 47.8 million people age 65 or older in the U.S. on July 1, 2015. [1] And, by 2035, there will be 78 million people age 65 years or older. [2]
This means that each year millions of seniors are likely to be making important decisions regarding their housing and care, and there is a lot at stake for them. Decisions to move are often fraught with emotion and seniors typically spend more on housing than any other expenditure.
A Place for Mom’s Senior Living Cost Index can help them determine the cost of senior housing and care. It provides information – from historical rent and care charges– around the rate of cost growth by care type, and how costs might differ by region among other things.
This year, executives with A Place for Mom spoke with journalists with USA Today, Multi-Housing News, McKnight’s Senior Living and Senior Housing News to explain the findings and share additional insights on their significance.
Links to their articles can be found below and it is interesting to see how each person illuminated the findings:
- USA Today, There’s a ‘perfect storm’ (of good news) for senior living costs in 2019. Here’s why
- Multi-Housing News, Senior living cost growth lags healthcare
- McKnight’s Senior Living, Modest senior living cost growth presents marketing opportunity, experts say
- Senior Housing News, Competitive market keeps senior living rate growth in check
- PBS News Hours, Are Americans overconfident about paying for retirement? April 23, 2019 (Cites APFM’s 2018 SLCI data)
We also have heard from several other journalists that will rely on the findings from A Place for Mom’s Senior Living Price Index throughout the year.
Finally, it will be interesting to see what next year’s Senior Living Price Index will reveal. Do you think that American’s should expect price stability to continue, or will we begin to see costs climb at a faster rate?
[1] https://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2017/cb17-ff08.html
[2] https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2018/cb18-41-population-projections.html