Wealthier Americans are paying millions to age in luxury campuses

livemint.com:

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. In the heart of Silicon Valley, well-off baby boomers enjoy meals of porchetta and cheesy polenta, prepared with herbs plucked from the community garden. Thirty-foot-tall windows offer a view on a quiet creek winding along manicured grounds.

Spending later years at this community, Vi at Palo Alto, comes with a price tag that starts with an upfront payment that can range from $1.17 million for a one-bedroom apartment and up to $7.3 million for a three-bedroom unit. Ongoing monthly fees up to $13,800 cover services such as housekeeping and valet parking, and amenities. Residents can attend lectures by professors of nearby Stanford University or a performance by opera singers.

For wealthier Americans, greater options exist for how to spend their later years. A growing crop of high-end communities, called life plan communities, allow residents to start in an apartment and then move to more nursing-like care as they age. Occupancy rates are rising, with the rate in the independent living units above 80% today, according to NIC MAP Vision, a data source for senior housing research.

Resident contracts typically work like a membership and, depending on terms, lock in rates so that costs don’t escalate when higher levels of care are needed. Inclusive care contracts come with higher upfront fees, but allow customers to sidestep having to find, and pay for, different levels of care as they age. Many baby boomers who watched parents or friends struggle to age in their homes—and scramble to find nursing or home healthcare—say they are determined to do things differently, for their own peace of mind and that of their children.