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Home care or a retirement home: which costs less?

Compare the monthly cost of staying at home with paid help against moving to a retirement home, using your own rates, and see how many hours of home care a week it takes before a move costs less.

Staying at home
$

Rent or mortgage, property tax, insurance, utilities and upkeep.

$
hours/week

Personal care, companionship, housekeeping. For live-in or 24-hour care, ask the agency for its daily rate.

$

Ask two or three agencies; personal care costs more than companionship. Find agencies

$

Transportation, medical alert service, home modifications spread over a year.

Moving to a retirement home
$

Usually includes meals, housekeeping and activities. Compare residences

$

Help with bathing, dressing, medications; billed on top of rent at most residences.

$

Phone, cable, parking, personal spending.

Questions

Is home care cheaper than a retirement home?

It depends on how many hours of help are needed. A few hours a week of home care usually costs far less than moving. As care needs grow, paid hours add up, and past a certain number of hours a week a retirement home with a care package costs less. The calculator shows where that point is with your own rates.

What's included in retirement home rent?

Usually a private suite, meals, housekeeping, activities and 24-hour staff on site. Personal care such as help with bathing, dressing and medications is usually billed as a care package on top of rent. Ask each residence for its full monthly cost at the care level needed.

Does the government pay for home care?

Every province funds some home care after an assessment by the local health authority, mostly personal support and nursing. Companionship and housekeeping are usually private-pay. Publicly funded hours lower the cost of staying home, so ask for an assessment first.

When is it time to move instead of adding home care?

Cost is one signal. Others are needing help at night, falls, missed medications, isolation, and a family caregiver who is exhausted. A residence provides staff around the clock and company, which home care can't fully replace.