Where to start › Planning ahead › CCRCs
CCRCs — the move-once model
A Continuing Care Retirement Community (also "life plan community") makes one big promise: move in while independent, and as needs change, assisted living and nursing care are on the same campus — no second move, no mid-crisis search, often with a spouse a building away instead of a town away. Roughly 1,900 exist nationwide, about 80% nonprofit. The promise is real; it is also a six-figure financial contract, and this page is the plain-language version of what you're signing.
The money: entrance fee + monthly fee
Most CCRCs charge a one-time entrance fee — commonly averaging $300,000–$350,000, with a full range from around $50,000 to over $1 million — plus a monthly fee that averaged about $4,166 for independent living at the end of 2024 (National Investment Center data, reported by ASHA — whereyoulivematters.org). Entrance fees come in two families: declining (amortizes to zero over several years) and refundable (50%–90% returns to you or your estate — for a higher entrance price). Which one, and refund timing, are contract terms to read exactly.
The three contract types
- Type A — Lifecare: highest fees, strongest promise: unlimited assisted living and nursing care with little or no increase in the monthly fee beyond normal inflation. The community carries the risk of your future care costs.
- Type B — Modified: middle fees; a set allowance of care days at little or no markup, then market rates. Risk is shared.
- Type C — Fee-for-service: lowest entry cost; you pay full market rates for care if and when needed. You carry the risk — in exchange for a much smaller check upfront.
(Plain summary of the standard industry contract taxonomy — myLifeSite's primer is the best neutral explainer: mylifesite.net.)
The due diligence — because you're betting on their solvency
A CCRC's promise is only as good as its finances, and regulation is uneven: about 38 states regulate CCRCs (with widely varying rigor) and the rest essentially don't; there is no federal oversight (mylifesite.net). The financial questions the industry's own analysts say to ask: Is independent-living occupancy at or above ~90% and stable? Will they show you audited financial statements? Is operating cash flow positive? Has an actuarial study been done (for Type A/B promises)? Is the community less than ~8 years old and still carrying construction debt? A CCRC that won't answer these is answering them.
An elder-law attorney or fee-only financial planner reviewing the contract before signing is standard advice from every neutral source — and given the check size, cheap.
Where the public record stops — and who to ask
Is a specific CCRC financially sound, and which contract type fits your person's finances? That answer depends on your state and your situation, and it belongs to the people who decide it — not to us. Here is who has it, and exactly what to ask so you arrive prepared instead of lost.
Who to ask: the CCRC's own disclosures (audited financials, occupancy, actuarial study — ask directly); your state's CCRC regulator if it has one; an elder-law attorney or fee-only financial planner for the contract read
What to ask them:
- May we see your last two audited financial statements and current occupancy rates?
- Is the entrance fee refundable, on what schedule, and what happens to it if we leave or pass away?
- Under this contract, exactly what happens to the monthly fee when my person moves to assisted living or nursing care?
- Does our state regulate CCRCs, and is this community in good standing with the regulator?
You now know more than most people who walk into that office. That is the whole point of this page.
Who helps you locally — free, and on your side. You do not have to figure this out alone. Your Area Agency on Aging gives free options counseling; reach any of them through the federal Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 or eldercare.acl.gov (Administration for Community Living). More on the four people who help — and what each one does — on Who helps me locally.
Quick answers
How much does a CCRC cost?
Typical entrance fees average $300,000–$350,000 (full range roughly $50,000 to over $1 million), plus monthly fees averaging about $4,166 for independent living (end-2024 NIC data). Costs vary by contract type: Type A (lifecare) charges the most but caps future care costs; Type C (fee-for-service) costs least upfront but bills care at market rates later.
What is the difference between CCRC contract types A, B, and C?
Type A (lifecare): highest fees, unlimited future assisted living and nursing care with little or no monthly-fee increase — the community absorbs the risk. Type B (modified): moderate fees, a set number of discounted care days, then market rates — shared risk. Type C (fee-for-service): lowest entrance cost, care billed at full market rates when needed — the resident keeps the risk.
Are CCRC entrance fees refundable?
It depends entirely on the contract: traditional declining fees amortize to zero over a set schedule, while refundable contracts return 50%–90% to the resident or their estate in exchange for a higher entrance fee. Refund timing (often tied to re-occupancy of the unit) is a critical contract term to read exactly.
Are CCRCs regulated?
About 38 states regulate CCRCs — with rigor ranging from strict actuarial and reserve requirements to minimal oversight — and there is no federal regulation. That is why financial due diligence (audited statements, occupancy above ~90%, actuarial soundness for lifecare promises) falls largely on the family before signing.