In this episode of The Financially Mindful Podcast, Cathleen Toomey of the RiverWoods Group of Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) is here to get rid of the stigma of retirement communities. Residents enter CCRCs when they are independent and can age comfortably in place. With financial benefits, like tax deductibility, along with quality of life considerations CCRCs could be a great option for aging parents or even yourself. Cathleen covers different types of CCRCs, who can join and when, what it might cost, how to start the conversation with an aging parent and more in this episode of The Financially Mindful Podcast. 

 

Daniel James

Dan is Founder and CEO of CanopyLife, a platform committed to building families’ financial resilience to deal with major life events. Dan founded CanopyLife after experiencing the financial and emotional cost of losing his dad to cancer, and wanting to help families avoid the same pitfalls. A Kellogg School of Management grad, Dan previously led new product development at Capital One and has nearly a decade of experience working in product development at startups focused on consumer, fintech and insurtech. In a prior life, Dan was a consultant at BCG and worked in Equities for Goldman Sachs and ABNAMRO. 

 

James V. Grace

Jim Grace is the Director of Wealth Management at Silver Pine Capital in Medfield, Massachusetts. ​Jim has more than a decade of experience in the financial services industry, leading Silver Pine’s financial planning and broader wealth management service offering. He has worked for MetLife and has managed for First Niagara (LPL Financial) and United Northeast Financial Advisors (Infinex Investments). He is father to two children. 

 

About our Guest:

Cathleen Toomey is the Vice President of Marketing at the RiverWoods Group, northern New England’s largest family of Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs). Cathleen oversees the brand positioning, advertising, marketing initiatives and sales for all RiverWoods Group communities. With three separate campuses, comprising 400 homes, RiverWoods maintains high occupancy and a strong financial track record. 

 

Insight from this episode:

Reasons why you should consider aging in place at a CCRC, including financial and social-emotional advantages.

Details on what life in a CCRC is really like and all the options available to you. 

Benefits for the extended family when someone transitions into a CCRC.

The impact that the “silver tsunami” will have on the aging industry and your family.

Reflections on independence and how the concept of independence changes as we age. 

 

Quotes from the show:

“We look like a beautiful retirement community… but we’re not. We are an insurance product.” –Cathleen Toomey The Financially Mindful Podcast Ep. #7 (9:19)

“The government considers when you’re in a CCRC that you are pre-paying your future health care, so a portion of your monthly fee and a portion of your entrance fee is written off on your taxes.” –Cathleen Toomey The Financially Mindful Podcast Ep. #7 (12:16)

“The people who are coming are either, one, planners, they want to know ahead of time if I need help, I want to know who’s going to give it to me, what it’s going to cost and where I’m going to get it. Or, they’re people on the second camp that have had the experience of dealing with their parents who have become ill and moved in with them or they stepped out of their career for their parents, and they don’t want to do the same thing to their children. A lot of people describe this as this is a gift to my children.” –Cathleen Toomey The Financially Mindful Podcast Ep. #7 (15:16)

“The amount of time you literally talk to people at age 80 versus age 50 drops in half. Then if you live alone, it’s even more dramatic.” –Cathleen Toomey The Financially Mindful Podcast Ep. #7 (23:17)

“Regardless of how you cut it, it’s much more affordable than finding out that you require care and then going out later in life and trying to