Greenville SC Senior Living: Plan Now or Face a 5-Year Waitlist

Retirement planning involves many conversations about income, taxes, and investments. But one of the questions Stewart Smith and Mitch Davies hear most often from families across Upstate South Carolina is this: How do we figure out the senior care piece and how do we pay for it?

This week, Stewart and Mitch are joined in the studio by Lynn Baird of Oasis Senior Advisors, a 30-year veteran who helps families navigate independent living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing facilities across the Greenville area. Think of her as a real estate agent and advocate for families going through one of the most complicated transitions of their lives.

In this episode:

• The four levels of senior care and exactly what triggers the move from one to the next
• How activities of daily living (ADLs) connect to insurance and long-term care benefits
• What senior living actually costs in Upstate SC — and why it may surprise you
• Why some of the most sought-after Greenville communities have five-year waiting lists
• The questions every family should ask when touring a facility
• How to recognize the signs that a loved one may need more help — and why it's harder to spot than most people think
• Medicaid planning and the five-year lookback — what you need to know before you need it
• Stewart's personal story about his father, a power of attorney, and a stroke that changed everything eight months later

Mitch also covers this week's market update — inflation numbers, the new Federal Reserve chair, and what continued volatility means for retirees who haven't stress-tested their portfolios lately.

For senior living placement in Upstate SC, visit Lynn at oasissenioradvisors.com and search for the Greenville location.

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Important Disclosure:

Investment advisory services offered through Alphastar Capital Management, LLC, a SEC-registered investment adviser. SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the SEC nor does it indicate that the adviser has attained a particular level of skill or ability. Fixed insurance products are offered through Clearpath Retirement Planning, LLC and Alphastar Capital Management is not involved in the offer, recommendation, sale or management of commission-based fixed Insurance products. Alphastar Capital Management and Clearpath Retirement...

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to ClearPath Retirement Radio. From retirement income and tax planning to protecting the savings you've worked a lifetime to build, this is Real World Financial Talk designed for real people. People who want clear answers, not sales pitches, so you can make informed decisions and plan for retirement with confidence. Now, here are your hosts, Stuart Smith and Mitch Davies.

SPEAKER_03 0:23

Welcome in, everybody, to another edition of Clear Path Retirement Radio. I am your host, Stuart Smith, and I'm here with Mitch Davies as usual.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

Good morning, everybody.

SPEAKER_03 0:34

And today we have a special guest in studio with us, and we're very excited to have her here. Miss Lynn Baird from OACE's Senior Advisors is joining us today. Welcome in, Lynn.

SPEAKER_02 0:47

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_03 0:49

Absolutely, absolutely. Well, today we're going to talk about, we're going to have an interesting discussion and just talk about, you know, senior care and talk about OACES specifically and kind of what they do and what Lynn does. And, you know, get get real clear on this stuff because I know that Mitch and I, over the years of working with seniors and doing the retirement planning side of things, we often get a lot of questions when it comes to, you know, people get to a certain point in life and they start to need, you know, higher levels of care, or they're interested in a, you know, an independent senior living community, and they just don't know really where to start and you know how all that stuff works, right? So in comes OASIS Senior Advisors and someone like Lynn here, and they are the experts. Lynn, you've been doing this for 30 years, so I've I'm I'm assuming you've learned a few things about it. And can you just share a little bit with with the audience, just you know, tell us a little bit about OASIS and kind of how you work and and what you're all about?

SPEAKER_02 2:07

Sure. Um OASIS is basically the best way to explain it is I I'm a real estate agent for the senior living communities. Um I'm an advocate for the families. I help to sort through all the things that you don't know until you have to know it. Um I try to walk alongside them during the process uh for tours and consultations and find out what's really important to them in this next step.

SPEAKER_03 2:33

Yeah. And that's important stuff, I tell you. I um I was recently down in Columbia with a uh some some comrades of yours down in the OASIS uh down there and and with a client and you know I had, you know, at one point the client was really confused and really wanted to, you know, start looking at places and start getting the information and trying to learn about you know what the next phase of her life could look like as both of her daughters were were kind of calling me and saying, you know, mom needs some help and we're kind of worried about her being out there and living alone and and you know, we're worried about you know what what may happen to her and and so she's been been working with Oasis and she's been looking at places and she's been extremely pleased with you guys and and how you handle things. And I was just recently down, you know, we we had been having a conversation and she said um you know, Stuart, I like um when I narrow it down to a few places, I'd like you to come down and and kind of visit with me and and just kind of be there. And I I'd promised her I would. Um I had made that promise that I would do that, so um I I kept my promise and I went down and and visited and you know honestly, Lynn, it it was a little eye-opening for me because I just don't think these places are kind of what people expect anymore. And um, you know, I was really pleasantly surprised, and I know I left, you know, one of the facilities down there, and I was kind of thinking to myself, hmm.

SPEAKER_02 4:21

That's such a bad deal.

SPEAKER_03 4:24

Not not, you know, not as not a bad deal. I mean, you you get one good meal a day, I think it was, and you're on your own for the other ones, but you get all kinds of fun activities. The place was nice. I mean, it was really nice, the facilities were nice, the people were extremely nice, and you know, no cooking, no cleaning, no, you know, uh I I don't know. I mean, it sounds pretty good to me. But um, so you know, the way I understand it, and help me understand if I'm right or wrong here, but you know, it kind of starts there's different levels of care, right? So it starts with kind of independent living with with communities that are just certain age groups uh and up, and then maybe it goes to what assisted living at that point when you need a little more help and and you can't quite do the things that you you need to get done. And then I guess there's higher levels of care, skilled nursing care and and like memory care type units and stuff like that. Is that does that sound about right?

SPEAKER_02 5:35

That sounds about right. So independence usually when you want that maintenance-free living, um you you want someone cooking your meals for you and and not having to worry about housekeeping and and those things as you get older. Assisted living is more when you actually need um assistance with your activities of daily living like bathing, dressing, uh medication management. Um, just a little more of a struggle day to day and need help with that. Memory care is the same as assisted living, it's just more dementia specific. Those folks are trained to to deal with the the um redirecting and the special needs of someone uh through the stages of dementia. And then um skilled nursing obviously is when you need a nurse there 24-7 because you've got some special needs, either short term while you're in rehab after a hospital stay or long term where you have some um higher clinical needs like a wound or a special diagnosis.

SPEAKER_03 6:38

Okay. Interesting. Well, I you know, you you talk about the activities of daily living. We get a lot of questions around that as far as, you know, what triggers, you know, this not only just the need for care, right? Like, um, but a lot of times those ADLs or activities of daily living are what trigger benefits on some sort of insurance or or or any kind of real, you know, mechanism that you have in place to kind of help to cover the cost on that. And we're pretty intimately familiar with that. A lot of times clients will say, well, how does this work? Like if I have this this insurance or or I have this kind of hybrid product, maybe life insurance with long-term care benefits or an annuity with long-term care benefits built into it, like how did what what triggers that benefit? And like you say, a lot of times two of those six activities of daily living have to be interrupted for that to to go into effect. And you know, I the way I understand it is that basically just like a primary care physician has to sign off saying that that's the case.

SPEAKER_02 7:56

Yes, and you're right. Most of those policies say um that you need assistance with two activities of daily living or you have uh cognitive issues that make it unsafe for you to be in the home alone.

SPEAKER_03 8:08

Okay, like I can't remember to take my medications correctly and that kind of stuff. Okay. Well, um let's talk numbers for a minute. You know, I um I know that that we get updated on this fairly frequently, but when it comes to, you know, independent living, let's start there. What what is a good rough number for kind of what that could cost us on a monthly basis?

SPEAKER_02 8:40

Independent living is probably the one that's the hardest to pin down because there are so many variances. We have some independent living apartments um in the Greenville area where you can get a small studio for about $2,500 a month, and that includes all three meals a day, all your utilities, the activities and transportation. So that's a really good value for some folks that are needing somebody to be close by. They also have the call lights that so there's somebody there that could assist you in calling 911 if you need it. There's not going to be care um uh that's uh immediately available. Um but it can go all the way up to um a buy-in type situation where you're buying the home um at a large amount and and then you're paying on top of that, you're paying a monthly fee to a continuing care retirement community.

SPEAKER_03 9:36

That's interesting. I tell you, um it's you know, I've been surprised by kind of all of the different variations of this and and how this works, and and I think, you know, it's it gets very confusing for folks, and that's why, you know, a senior advisor like yourself is so critical to this process to help, because you know, someone can just come to you and say, you know, here's what my finances look like, here's what I have to spend, and you can start narrowing the field and kind of you know getting them zoned right in on the things that that would work for them. And you know, I think that there's huge value in being able to do that for folks. I know that, you know, we you know, we get a lot of questions and we get asked a lot of things, and you know, I just you know it's just it's gotten to a point where you know I'm just like, hey, just you you're gonna have to call in on this. Like we we we can we understand things up to a certain extent and but it kind of leaves off there and and we you know that's where these you know it's just so critical because again, you know, like you say, there's 15 different, you know, variances of how to pay for this stuff. I mean, whether it's your a big buy-in and then a monthly fee, or whether it's just a monthly fee, or whether the, you know, what are we looking at as far as like waiting list and and and is that an issue for folks at this point?

SPEAKER_02 11:17

It it's beginning to be in Greenville. Um we have a lot of people, as you know, coming to retire in this area, and um some of the more sought-after communities can have a wait list. Um most of them are very relaxed in what they call a wait list, so it might be somebody that thinks that eventually I might need this, but I'm not ready today, I'm not ready next month. Um, so they'll put them on that list, give them a call when something comes available, and they're like, no, skip over, go to the next person. So it it may be twenty people long, but in reality only five of them are ready to move.

SPEAKER_03 11:51

Gotcha. Well, listen, guys, we are going to continue our discussion in the next segment. Y'all stick with us. We'll be right back with Lynn Baird. Hey, are you approaching the distribution phase of life where it's time to turn the assets you've worked so hard to accumulate into a reliable retirement income? And are you unsure how to do that in the most tax-efficient way possible? At Clear Path Retirement Planning, we help retirees and pre-retirees design income strategies that aim to reduce taxes, manage risk, and create confidence in retirement. Visit ClearpathRetirement.com to schedule a complimentary consultation.

SPEAKER_01 12:30

Thanks for tuning in to Clear Path Retirement Radio with Stuart Smith and Mitch Davies. Let's get back to the show.

SPEAKER_03 12:36

Welcome back in to Clear Path Retirement Radio. I am Stuart Smith. Um, this is a very important topic that we are discussing today. So we are talking about, you know, what do you do when you get to the point in your life and in your retirement where maybe you're not making the best decisions, maybe it's time to to take some of the the workload off of you, maybe it's time to you know get into a situation where you're not having to spend all your days, you know, cooking and cleaning and and taking care of a house, and and you just kind of want to be, you want to transition into a little bit easier situation where you know things can be some of those things can be taken off of you and handled for you. And then, you know, as you progress on further into needing a little more care and and maybe um maybe you you you eventually get to a point to where you're not so cognitively sharp and able to manage things, you know, how does all that work and and you know who do you turn to when those times you know start and you need you know advice, you need guidance, you need um, you know, real understanding of the situation. And you know, Lynn's here with us, she's been doing this for 30 years. She is, you know, an unbelievable senior advisor with Oasis here. And we started just in the last segment, we started talking about cost and just just some general ballpark. Don't hold us to this, but but we're talking general ballpark costs, and I think we kind of started with independent living saying that there were you know places that that were as affordable as $2,500 a month that you know provided you with three meals and and and cleaning services and and activities and transportation and all of that good stuff. What's the what's what's the next level here?

SPEAKER_02 15:01

What um well assisted living also varies by the the community that you choose, the even the location of the apartment can sometimes make a difference. Um of course assisted living you're you're scaling down, you're gonna be a a mostly a smaller apartment. But um for planning needs, I usually tell my clients to count on about four to seven thousand dollars in the upstate, depending on your your taste and in your location. Um that many of the communities have what they call levels of care. So they'll have a small a smaller base rate for the room and then based on the the assessment that they do, they will determine how much additional cost you'll have. Um so that's geared so that you're not um if you if you're on the front end and you can do more things for yourself, then obviously you're gonna benefit from that. And so they they're encouraging people to um take advantage of that, and then as they need more care, uh the of course the price will go up.

SPEAKER_03 16:07

That makes perfect sense. So you know we've got the independent living, then the assisted living, and then at some point they're more than likely going to need the full skilled nursing care at the Yes.

SPEAKER_02 16:22

Um and in in that in between, if the there's a cognitive diagnosis, there is memory care that's around fifty, five hundred to eight thousand, a little little more than assisted living because of of the specialization. But skilled nursing is um eighty five hundred to fifteen thousand a month in this area.

SPEAKER_03 16:40

Wow. Wow. That is um that is no joke when it comes to your finances, and you know, a lot of times one of the big questions we get at ClearPath is, you know, people and this does keep people up at night, I can tell you that. And and we'll, you know, we'll be sitting and and and talking with them and they'll tell us, like, what in the world, you know, can we afford that? Like, is this feasible for us or do we need to potentially address this, you know, in some other way, other than just paying for it dollar for dollar out of our pocket until we deplete our assets? And you know, that is one of the questions we can answer for you at ClearPath. And um, we we we have a whole process that we take clients through where we very, you know, we model, you know, their income plan based on what their income needs are, what their assets are, what you know, what what kind of income sources and expenses they have, and and we're able to to through, you know, a very detailed process, go ahead and model, you know, what if one of you guys does need this, you know, twelve thousand dollar a month skilled nursing care at some point. Is that feasible for you and can you manage through that financially? And it's an extremely beneficial conversation to be able to have because a lot of people worry about this and they really, really um lose sleep over this. And if we're able to model through it, Mitch, it is just a very a lot of relief that they feel definitely when it comes to seeing like, okay, even if the worst hit, we can we can do this, we can get through this, and we're gonna be able to manage through it. The alternative is often, you know, the the route that a lot of people fear, and that is where they have to kind of maybe spin down their assets to a certain threshold and then have Medicaid step in and put and foot the bill for them. And that is a uh, you know, that is an option that a lot of people are are even scares them even more. And when it comes to, you know, Medicaid approved facilities, what what is your experience with those type of facilities? You know, are are there lots of beds available for those guys?

SPEAKER_02 19:14

And no, those typically are on a on a wait list. Um in South Carolina, unfortunately, there are not very many uh assisted living communities that accept the Medicaid. It's actually a waiver program that pays for assisted living. Um when you get to skilled nursing, there are a few more options, but those typically have a weight and you're it's going to be a semi-private room almost always unless you're just waiting on that your roommate to show up. Yeah. So not ideal.

SPEAKER_03 19:45

Not ideal, uh obviously. So that just further emphasizes the importance of really looking at this stuff and making sure that you know you are as independent as you can be for as long as you can be, and that you control your own destiny when it comes to to making these decisions and making these choices. And you know, we certainly, you know, encourage folks to to really be thinking ahead here. Um if it is your plan to to kind of you know spin down assets to a certain threshold and then try to qualify for Medicaid, you know, you need to be um you need to understand that. You need to understand that, you know, sooner rather than later, and that there are certain five-year look back periods with your assets and things of that nature um that need you need to be aware of. But, you know, I obviously much rather plan for this better where you can pay for it and you can't you do have better options and nicer facilities to choose from. And, you know, unfortunately, um the baby boomers have have kind of crowded everybody out and are taking up all the spots. And I, you know, I was really surprised because I know that one of the facilities that I looked at recently with my client down in Columbia, they had a five-year waiting list. And five years. And I'm like, wow, you know, I mean, that just blew me away. We have one locally with a five-year wait list. I mean, you gotta be thinking five years ahead to um to potentially have a spot open up and and get into some of these facilities. And so definitely really creates a sense of urgency when it comes to you know, thinking about this stuff, because most people, let's face it, they just don't think about it until it's too late, right?

SPEAKER_02 21:49

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 21:49

Yeah. And so we we want to make sure that we're you know, we're having these conversations. And you know, Mitch and I always say, you know, when you're working with An advisor in our office, we're always, you know, preaching, have a plan for this. I don't know what your plan is, but it you have to have a plan. It doesn't necessarily mean going into a facility, but I can tell you a quick story. I had a client that I was working with years ago, and she came to me and I said, you know, hey, do you have a plan for this? And she said, um, yeah, we have a plan. And she said, my daughter is a nurse, and she and her husband had built an in-law suite at their house specifically for her when that time came and she started needing help and needing care. And, you know, I wasn't crazy about that idea, but I said, Well, at least you have a plan, right? Like it's not just we're not just, you know, shooting from the hip. We have a plan here. And so it wasn't maybe 18 months after we had that conversation that that she actually went ahead and and sold her house and moved into the in-law suite with her daughter, and her daughter actually quit work at that time. Um, it was about time for her to retire anyway, but she stopped working and started taking care of her mother full time. And, you know, I remember pulling into my office um probably eight months into that, and the daughter was sitting in my office parking lot in her car when I got there, and she was just bawling her eyes out. And I said, Hey, you know, what's going on? What's what's happening? And she said, You know, uh, Stuart, I didn't really think this through the way I should have. And she said, you know, I didn't really understand that I was going to be, you know, toileting and and showering and doing all of these things. And she said, you know, I would pay any amount of money at this point to just be her daughter again. And that really impacted me. And um, so, you know, things to be thinking through, guys, and things to be really on your radar, and you know, it's maybe not all it seems to be. We're gonna continue this, guys. We will be right back with more of this discussion. Retirement planning isn't just about growing money, it's about using it wisely, generating income, managing taxes, planning for health care costs, protecting your legacy. At Clear Path Retirement Planning, we specialize in helping retirees and pre-retirees transition from accumulation to distribution with confidence and clarity. If you're approaching retirement and want to plan, not just opinions, discover the Clear Path difference. Visit ClearpathRetirement.com today.

SPEAKER_01 24:52

Welcome to Clear Path Retirement Radio. From retirement income and tax planning to protecting the savings you've worked a lifetime to build, this is Real World Financial Talk designed for real people, people who want clear answers, not sales pitches, so you can make informed decisions and plan for retirement with confidence. Now, here are your hosts, Stuart Smith and Mitch Davies.

SPEAKER_03 25:17

Welcome back in, everybody. This is Clear Path Retirement Radio, and it is time for our weekly segment with Mitch Davies here, and he's gonna do Mitch's Market Minute. So take it away, Mitch.

SPEAKER_00 25:30

Thank you, Stuart. Uh, you know, we've got again Miss Lynn Baird here, and we're having a great discussion today. So I'm gonna keep this one simple and quick, but we're gonna stick to the same idea as always. Just take a couple minutes to talk about you know where the markets are at today and a couple key things that we're watching, a couple things that are affecting retirees, and something you should, you know, keep on your radar and be thinking of. Um where we're at today, you know, the markets are holding up well. You know, again, we had a rough stretch in March where things were really rocky and uh things are doing much better now. A couple key headlines that we're watching are is inflation. You know, we've been talking about inflation for the last couple years, and there's really, you know, to keep it simple, there's two kinds of inflation that you hear about. There's consumer inflation and producer inflation. Consumer is what we pay when we go to the grocery store and get gas and energy and healthcare and all that. And then there's producer inflation, which is what you know the distributors pay and the companies and that sort of thing. Both of them are very high right now. Both of them came in very high, and this is concerning. You know, we saw some of the higher levels we've seen in a few years on some of that, and that's concerning for rate cuts, right? We talked last week about the new Federal Reserve Chair. He's coming in, which is exciting. Uh, got approved yesterday, and everyone's wanting him to come in and cut rates. But the environment that he's walking into is now, you know, record-level inflation, like high markets, and a war going on overseas. So there's three things kind of working against the new administration in the Federal Reserve. So what we're watching now is a really volatile situation still, right? This war is starting to maybe settle down, but then there's a ceasefire and then it's getting held. There's still a lot of uncertainty with that situation. So we're seeing oil prices still elevated, which means the market is gonna remain volatile. We're seeing high inflation, and now we're talking about the potential of rate hikes. So the biggest takeaway with all of this for you guys is there's a lot of uncertainty. There's a lot of volatility still right now, and there's a lot of wonder of what's gonna happen. And the thing the markets hate the most is uncertainty. The markets like to know exactly that expectations are gonna be met, which they're not being right now. They like to know that we know what is gonna happen on the next Fed meeting. We know they're gonna cut, we know they're gonna hike, whatever it is, the market likes to know what's gonna happen. And right now it doesn't. So if you're in retirement and you're not sure how your portfolio is gonna handle something like that, when there's a lot of uncertainty and it's going up and down, you know, let us come stress test it. Sit down with a team of you know financial professionals that can take that portfolio through what we call a stress test. We're gonna see how it's gonna handle through these types of things. So if you're just riding out index funds or stocks, you know, it can feel hectic during these times. So that's the biggest takeaway I've got today is just in times like this, it's really important to have to understand where your portfolio is and how it's allocated. And we're expecting volatility for the next few months with all this stuff.

SPEAKER_03 28:22

Yeah, I tell you, the stress test is extremely valuable. I um I can remember vividly um people back in, you know, the 08-09 um we'll call it correction, um, were I think the biggest thing I took away from that and the biggest learning, you know, process that I took away from that was the fact that most people went into that scenario in early 2008 and had no idea how much risk they were actually taking in their portfolios. That's right. And I remember them sitting across the table from me, you know, in March of 09 when it was kind of bottoming out. And I remember them, you know, saying to me, I, you know, I I had no idea I could potentially lose 40% of the portfolio that I've worked for 30 years to build. And my advisor never, you know, never told me or or just picked investments for me, and never I never understood that there was that level of risk going on. And had I known that I would have really pushed hard to get things reallocated. And, you know, so when people do come into us and we're able to take that portfolio and put it on the treadmill and hook up the EKG to it, and we're able to really like stress test that thing and be able to tell them like, hey, did you did you know that you could potentially be losing this kind of money in the next six months if the market were to really dip and they just they're shocked. They look at us like, I mean, are you crazy? And so we're able to, through our process, we're able to really, you know, take them and and you know, smooth that out for them and put them in a situation where they can they're you know can stomach the risk much better because the truth is is most people don't need to be taking that kind of risk to achieve the type of income goal that they're looking to achieve. All right, Mitch, thanks for that update. We're gonna return back to our discussion here. Um so again, Lynn Baird is with us. She is with OASIS Senior Advisors, and you know, they are the guys that you turn to when you are really, you know, needing help and trying to navigate this world of independent living, assisted living, nursing home care, memory care, all of these, you know, these things that that people are definitely very, very confused about. And these guys are the experts. These guys know intimately every one of these facilities, they know how they work, they know you know what the costs involved are, and they understand, you know, your needs and and they really get to know you and and what's going on with you. And you know, if if people want to get in touch with you, Lynn, and they wanna they have questions and they wanna they need help, how how would they go about doing that?

SPEAKER_02 31:39

Um, they can just give me a call and we'll start the consultation. A lot of times I I love to be able to to meet the person that um needs the additional care in person, but if not, uh a phone consultation is fine as well. And I'm local here to the Greenville area. If you call the number you're gonna get me and we'll just uh start with the discussion.

SPEAKER_03 32:01

Tell us that number.

SPEAKER_02 32:02

864-640-1099.

SPEAKER_03 32:07

Great.

SPEAKER_02 32:08

All right, and you guys have a website or we do Oasis SeniorAdvisors.com, and then you just put in the location that you're looking for. So it would be Greenville or upstate South Carolina.

SPEAKER_03 32:19

Great, great, okay. Well, thanks for that information. Well, you know, the next thing I next question I have is, you know, what are the signs that you look for with family members to start to understand that they might be in need of more help than they're currently getting just being at home by themselves or or even if they're an independent living and they're starting to need more help than what they're being provided there. What are the signs you look for in those folks?

SPEAKER_02 32:56

I would think primarily if if your loved one has um started maybe having more falls. Falls seem to indicate a lot of different things in in the uh senior living world. If they're having trouble managing their medications, you stop by to see them and you realize that the pill box that you're even filling out for them is not they're not um taking the pills as they should, even with that assistance. A lot of times if you spend enough time in an apartment or in a home and just helping mom or dad with emptying the dishwasher or doing everyday tasks, you'll see that things aren't quite as as they should be. It really requires if it's a cognitive issue, it requires a lot more than just that phone weekly phone call to mom where she sounds fine and she knows all the right things to say. You've got to spend a little bit of time to know uh how things are progressing. And luckily in independent living, uh if if your loved one is already there, there a lot of times they'll make relationships with other residents and the the staff members and they'll notice things that are going on. So that is helpful in that situation.

SPEAKER_03 34:04

Awesome. Yeah, I can I can remember I went to visit my father uh one time and I noticed as I pulled into the driveway, I noticed that the back of his car was a little scratched up and then had a few little dents in it, and I started looking around and realized that one of the trees in the front yard also had paint on it and was a little bit too intuitive. And I thought, hmm, it might be time to start having that conversation with pops and letting them know, like, hey, I don't know if you should be driving still. Um course we all know those conversations go so well. Right. I had to pry his car keys away from him like he was it was like he was a child, and I remember it was just a really, really tough conversation and and a tough day for him when that day finally came. And I noticed just in conversations with him where he would he would we would have a conversation and then a few minutes later he would start that same conversation with me. And I think that's a a real telltale sign where you know you hit they start to ask the same questions and and you you think to yourself, well I just we just talked about that. And if that's happening, then you probably want to give Lynn a call and you know start down this path of of finding a little a little extra assistance and a someone who can really guide them. And again, there's so many choices out there and there is so much going on. It seems like there's a new facility opening every month, and there's still not enough, right? Like I just that's the feeling I get at least.

SPEAKER_02 35:59

Yeah, it it does, depending on the it does feel that way.

SPEAKER_03 36:04

I mean, we have I think it's in excess of ten thousand people a day in this country turning sixty-five.

unknown 36:11

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 36:12

And I know it feels like we've got most of them here in Greenville. And you know, that's fine. I mean, we love 'em and we we welcome them, but I can tell you that, you know, if it's a concern f of yours that that you know you make sure that there's care available and that that you know you probably want to start looking at these places, like we say, sooner rather than later, even if you feel like I don't really need it now. Like we said, there's some of these places with five-year waiting list, and you know, you might five years from now things are gonna be of dramatically different than they are today. And so just just to plant that seed and and think about it, because I know that again, my father being a great example, I know that day that I had the discussion with him of hey, you know, we need to go ahead and get power of attorney, and and you need to sign that over to me because again, he was not making very good decisions and was, you know, starting to really um make some mistakes that that were were of concern. Um, you know, I remember him looking at me and saying, Um, you know, I love you, son. I trust you, I'll sign this this this power of attorney over to you, but you're never gonna need this. And I I said, No problem, Dad. I hope I never do. And he signed it over, and it was not even eight months later that he had a massive stroke and ended up in a skilled nursing facility for the rest of his life for six years and had no idea you know where he was at, and and um surprisingly recognized me, but but I was it, I was the only one. So this is a fascinating discussion, guys. Um, we are going to continue this in our last segment, guys. We will be right back hanging there with us, okay? Are you a business owner with an email list you are not sure is actually growing your business? Most business owners are just guessing, sending emails, hoping for a click. At Kathy Farah Consulting, we take guesswork out of your email marketing. We help you identify what's working and fix what's broken, turning your list into a reliable engine for better leads and consistent sales. Stop wandering, start growing. Visit KathyFara.com to book your free email clarity call today. Let's make your email marketing work smarter.

SPEAKER_01 38:41

Thanks for tuning in to Clear Path Retirement Radio with Stuart Smith and Mitch Davies. Let's get back to the show.

SPEAKER_03 38:48

Welcome back in to Clear Path Retirement Radio. I am Stuart Smith here with Mitch Davies, and today we have a special guest in-house, Miss Lynn Baird. She is with OASES Senior Advisors, and we are having a really interesting discussion on you know that time that comes along that everybody dreads, where they maybe aren't making the best decisions anymore, maybe they're not taking their medications quite right, maybe they're you know just a little foggy here and there, and not really, you know, the family members are starting to worry and they're starting to get a little bit anxious, and they you know they don't really know where to turn. And you know, we highly, highly recommend OASIS Senior Advisors and Lynn Baird here, especially in the upstate. She is, you know, an expert in all things to do with different levels of care and and what these facilities look like, how they work, and she is, you know, can be a very uh valuable resource to you and your family as you go down this path and you know, help you to really navigate this. Um and we're gonna continue our discussion here. I I want to ask about, you know, as a veteran, I became aware of, you know, there's some benefits out there for this type of care that is available to veterans the way I understand it. Can you tell us a little bit about that, Lynn?

SPEAKER_02 40:28

Sure. Um a veteran or a surviving spouse of a veteran is eligible for something called aid in attendance, which is like a pension benefit at the point when they uh require assistance with their activities of daily living. Um there are maximum benefits per month. Um in 2026, a single veteran uh the maximum benefit is around $2,300 a month. And the actual amount depends on the income, the assets, and expenses that they have. There are some um asset limitations. It's typically around about $155,000, but they don't include a house, uh, a car, some personal um belongings in that amount. But the income itself, um, the limit is $28,000 for that single veteran that we're using as an example, but they're gonna deduct from that um your cost. So if we assume that this veteran is going into an assisted living at $5,000 a month, then right off the bat they're gonna deduct $60,000 off of his income. So he could make $88,000 and still qualify under the term. And I think that's where some people get confused. They just think, well, mom or dad, uh their Social Security checks too much and they've got a little bit of a pension and they're not gonna qualify. So if if you're a veteran, you've served at least one day during a wartime period, and you are requiring assistance uh for activities of daily living, then it is certainly worth looking into.

SPEAKER_03 42:01

Wow, that's not too bad.

SPEAKER_02 42:03

Yeah, I'm it's very helpful for many families.

SPEAKER_03 42:06

Um I hope I never need it, but uh good to know it's there in case I'm in case I might. Well, good, good deal. So that is called aid and attendance. And um, you know, what I would always say is don't ever, ever assume you don't qualify for a benefit. You always put in an application and see where the chips fall. It is never a good thing to assume anything, and we all know where that gets you, right? So, you know, tell us a little bit about, let's talk about the emotional side of this whole dilemma that we see people in. When should a family start having, you know, this conversation? I know before we said, you know, maybe after a fall or some sort of diagnosis, but should they be thinking about this stuff even before that?

SPEAKER_02 43:02

Yes, um, you definitely would like to have that conversation in in different segments. I I always tell families that it don't make it one big conversation like one big episode. Um start talking to mom or dad as you see things are are progressing and ask them things like um what's getting harder for you? What do you what do you wish was easier on a day-to-day basis? Um talk about socialization, talk about all the things that would come along with a move that would be good things, not just mom, it's time to move. Because that conversation typically doesn't go very well.

SPEAKER_03 43:42

Yeah, I know that the client that I was with here recently that was looking at facilities, she at one point when I went down to visit with her, we were all in a conference room and we were having a discussion, and she very politely asked everyone else if they could leave. Room and just her and I could talk numbers, and you know, I was fully expecting to um talk numbers at that point, and that's not what we talked. She immediately burst into tears when her daughters left the room and she said, I just feel like I'm being pushed into doing something I'm not ready to do. And, you know, sometimes we have to be a little more than financial advisors to our clients, and so I just said, Listen, you know, you're one of the most fiercely independent women I've ever met in my life, and she certainly is. And I said, You have to do this in your time frame and and when you're comfortable. But that's very difficult because she does live in a real rural area on a bunch of property that she has to take care of and and you know, maintain, and she's getting ready to be 80, and it's just so hard to convince someone who has just been doing this for so long as far as taking care of things and maintaining their their land and their household and and you know having that independence that the time has come. So it's it's it's a very, very difficult conversation and it makes perfect sense what you said to maybe take that in short doses and not try to have just the big talk all at once, right? Like to get them slowly, gradually understanding and processing small bits at a time as opposed to this, you know, because she certainly did feel like it was just kind of all being crammed down on her at once and um maybe bring in some home care um and put some processes in place at home to make sure she's safe until she's ready. Yeah, they tried to do that with her and she wouldn't let them do anything.

SPEAKER_01 45:58

Oh that's different.

SPEAKER_03 46:01

And I just I it's uh it just seems like it's there's a lot of difficulty around this entire um process and and you know I just I pray that when that time comes for for myself that I am, you know, I'm okay with just admitting like I okay, I need help and I can't I can't do this all on my own anymore. When you tour a community with a family, what are the red flags you've trained yourself to spot that the family might kind of just walk right past?

SPEAKER_02 46:35

Um I'm usually looking for I'm I'm looking at the residents that live there currently more than the surroundings. I'm trying to to gauge whether or not they are a happy and they'll tell you if you stop them in the hall. I'm always kind of holding back so that I can talk to a resident or two during a tour, but um are they well cared for? And that's you can spot that pretty quickly. Um the rooms, what time of day is it as far as activities are concerned, because there are times of day when there's not going to be much going on, and that's because the residents go back and take a nap, or they you have just had lunch and they're through talking to people for a little while, so they're gonna revert back to their room. But um, so I'm really just kind of looking for um the atmosphere and and how everyone feels about where they are. Also, part of what we do is being in the industry, we know when management changes hands, whether it be the management company or the executive director, and we know that everybody has a different style of how they run a building, and some may not um be exactly what that person's looking for. So we're able to say, you know, there there have been some changes. That doesn't mean we're not recommending the place, but we're they they get information that they might not otherwise have um in trying to make the decision.

SPEAKER_03 47:48

Wow. Interesting. Interesting. So as far as you know, what are the questions that that families should be asking when they go on these tours?

SPEAKER_02 48:02

Um most of them are I I think Google helps. They're educated and we give them a list of of questions so that they ask some really good questions, things like staffing ratios, um, longevity of the staff is important. I mean, we all know that there's a huge amount of turnover. A caregiver in this area could walk off the job today and go have another job tomorrow. That's just the reality of the way things are. But um the things that I think are important is the communication piece because once mom or dad moves in, if you're trying to get answers to something, you want to know who your contact person is. You want to know how you how you're communicated with if their care needs change, if the price is going up, those type things. And um I I like especially if I feel get the feeling that they are very interested in a specific place, I I want to know that we have that information up front. I also try to to manage their expectations, which I think is pretty important because uh a tour can go really great in a beautiful community, and they're walking out thinking that they're gonna get customer service like they get at Ritz-Carlton, or one-on-one care like they would have in an ICU, and neither one of those is true in any a community of this type. Um so I'm having that parking lot conversation afterwards to say, you know, I I know it's it's a bright new shiny penny, but let's talk about reality, you know.

SPEAKER_03 49:26

That is interesting. I you know, I I mean, of course, everybody wants just the absolute best care they could possibly get for their loved ones. I certainly understand that having been through that with my father, but but we also have to be realistic. Right. And reality is sometimes just just a little bit different than what our highest hopes and aspirations are for these places. It's hard to pay people enough money to take care of the people that you love. It's hard to really to some most of these people do it just out of the love in their hearts, and they they're not in it for the money, and I think that's that's where you get really fortunate and really lucky. Well, guys, listen, this is Lynn. We really appreciate you coming and hanging with us today and having this really important conversation and giving us all this great information. Again, if you are in need of this, please visit Lynn at OasysSenior com and go pull up the upstate or Green Bull and you'll see her on there. Um, she is our go-to resource on this stuff. And if you need help figuring out how to pay for it, come see us at ClearpathRetirement.com and we can take a look at that. Until next week, everybody, have a happy retirement and we'll see you next week. Are you anxious to see what retirement might look like for you? Do you feel like you have the pieces of the puzzle, but you're not sure how they fit together or where to start? At Clear Path Retirement, we help you bring clarity to retirement by organizing your income, taxes, health care decisions, and legacy planning into one cohesive plan. Retirement doesn't have to feel uncertain, it just needs a clear path. Schedule your complimentary consultation at Clearpathretire.com.

SPEAKER_01 51:18

You've been listening to Clear Path Retirement Radio with Stuart Smith and Mitch Davies, helping you make informed decisions so you can plan for retirement with confidence. To learn more, visit Clearpathretirement.com. That's Clearpathretirement.com. Investment advisory service is offered through Alpastar Capital Management LLC, a SEC registered investment advisor. SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the SEC, nor does it indicate that the advisor has attained a particular level of skill or ability. Fixed insurance products are offered through Clearpath Retirement Planning LLC, and Alpastar Capital Management is not involved in the offer, recommendation, sale, or management of commission based fixed insurance products. Alpastar Capital Management and Clearpath Retirement Planning LLC are separate and independent entities. This is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal tax or investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, investment product, or investment strategy.