Retirment Housing Glossary
- 55+ Retirement Community: An age-restricted retirement community that requires at least one member of each household to be at least 55 years of age.
- AARP: (American Association of Retired Persons) Non-profit special interest group for people age 50 and over. The organization is dedicated to enhancing the lives of people as they age and provides many benefits and services for its members. www.aarp.com
- Active Adult Retirement Communities: Promotes a rich life experience based on recreation and interaction with other seniors.
- Activity of Daily Living: (ADL) One
- Adult day care: A day-time program that provides seniors with daily health, social and emotional benefits outside the home.
- Age-restricted community: Retirement communities that have a minimum age requirement for residents. Some draw the line at 55 and up, while others only accommodate seniors 62 and older. These communities provide elders with a peer group, which promotes social interaction.
- Alzheimer: A progressive form of dementia that occurs in seniors due to the deterioration of brain tissue.
- Assisted Living Retirement Community: Promotes maximum independence through support and assistance with non-medial aspects of daily life, such as bathing, dressing meals, housekeeping and transportation.
- CCRC: (Continuing Care Retirement Communities) Offer multiple levels of care so you can maintain your independent lifestyle in a private home and change your status as needed without the uncertainty of wondering where you will live.
- Dementia Care: Special care for your loved one with dementia. These services specifically cater to the needs of seniors with memory impairments to provide them with a protected and healthy environment.
- Independent Living Communities: Offers the privacy and freedom of home combined with the convenience and security of on-call assistance and a maintenance-free environment
- IRA: (Individual Retirement Account) A personal retirement savings account that earns interest and is not taxed until funds are withdrawn. These accounts allow you to build-up to save for retirement. There are several types of theses account such as deductible IRAs, non-deductible IRAs and Roth IRAs. The main benefit of an IRA is that they are tax deferred investments, so all the taxes are paid at a future date rather than the year your investment produces income.
- Nursing homes: Also known as Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF), nursing homes are places of residence and care centers for those who require constant assistance with daily living.
- Nursing / Skilled Care: Quality care fore seniors who cannot care for themselves. (also see skilled nursing facilities)
- Pension: Payments a person receives upon retirement from the government or from an investment fund.
- Retirement Annuities: An individual makes a lump sum deposit in order to receive fixed payments, often for the rest of their life, and gives up the rights to the deposit. Many seniors invest in a retirement annuity to insure themselves from outliving their financial resources.
- Retirement Community: Living communities designed to provide recreation and social interaction for seniors. Many senior retirement communities are located in areas with warm climates such as Arizona, Florida or California but there are communities all across the country.
- Senior congregate housing: This is typically for senior who are no longer able or do not want to live completely independently. These facilities typically provide meals and other services but offer seniors their own residential space to help them maintain some independence. Senior congregate housing also provides seniors with the opportunity to share activities of daily living with other residents and provides a social network for residents to enjoy.
- Senior Housing: Residences designed specifically to accommodate the needs of seniors. Many are maintenance free and can include cottage homes, apartments or gated neighborhood communities.
- Skilled nursing facilities: Places of residence and care centers for those who require constant assistance with daily living. Many of these facilities often provide short-term care for those recovering from accidents or illness to help them recuperate.