Sarah Ingles, REALTOR® SRES® · Fathom Realty
When you're helping a parent choose a senior community in the Des Moines metro — or planning ahead for yourself — one of the most confusing choices is between a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) and straight Independent Living. They look similar from the outside but the financial model, the long-term value, and the day-to-day experience can be very different.
1. Active Adult / 55+ Community. Independent lifestyle with no care. Think Maplewood Village, Villas at Stonewater, Courtyards at King's Landing. Residents live like they did in their previous home, with less maintenance and more community.
2. Independent Living. A step up from 55+. Meals, housekeeping, transportation, and activities are included but residents are still fully independent. Think Grand Living at Tower Place, Wesley on Grand, Glen Meadow Retirement.
3. Assisted Living. Help with activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, medication management). Residents have more complex needs than independent living.
4. Skilled Nursing / Memory Care. 24-hour nursing care, often for residents with significant medical needs, dementia, or recovery from hospitalization.
A Continuing Care Retirement Community (also called a Life Plan Community) offers all four levels on one campus. Residents move in at the Independent Living level and can transition to Assisted Living, Skilled Nursing, or Memory Care on the same campus as their needs change.
In the Des Moines metro, the main CCRCs include Kennybrook Village (Grimes), Wesley Life at Brio (Urbandale), The Village Cooperative (WDM — cooperative ownership), and parts of Grand Living at Tower Place.
Plain independent living is a senior apartment or villa community with meals, housekeeping, transportation, and activities — but no higher levels of care on site. If your needs change, you move to a different community that provides assisted living or skilled nursing.
In the Des Moines metro: Edgewater, Grand Living at Tower Place (IL portion), Wesley on Grand, Glen Meadow Retirement, Elite Lodge of Ashworth, Attivo Trail.
Most CCRCs use an entrance fee plus monthly fee model:
The advantage of the CCRC entrance fee model is care cost protection. Once you are in a Life Care or Type A CCRC contract, your monthly fee does not increase significantly when you move from Independent Living to Assisted Living or Skilled Nursing. You essentially pre-pay for long-term care at today's prices.
Plain independent living is typically month-to-month rental or a simple lease:
Q: What does CCRC stand for? A: Continuing Care Retirement Community, also called a Life Plan Community. It is a senior community that offers independent living, assisted living, and skilled nursing on a single campus so residents can age in place.
Q: How much does a CCRC cost in Des Moines? A: Entrance fees at Des Moines metro CCRCs typically run $100,000 to $500,000+ depending on unit size and refund structure, plus monthly fees of $3,000 to $6,000+. The trade-off is care cost protection as needs change.
Q: Is a CCRC refundable? A: Most Des Moines metro CCRCs offer refundable entrance fee options (usually 50% to 90% refundable) that return to your estate when you leave or die. The higher the refund percentage, the higher the entrance fee.
Q: Can you move from independent living to a CCRC later? A: Yes, but most CCRCs require a health screening at entrance, so it is usually easier to move into a CCRC while you are still healthy than to wait until you need more care.
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