Nursing home, assisted living or at home: This is what you need to consider

twilight years
What is important to be able to live well in old age?

An old couple on a sofa in the living room

Familiar and homely: Many seniors want to grow old in their own four walls. This can be achieved with early help

© Purestock / Getty Images

Going to a nursing home, assisted living – or growing old at home in your own four walls? What support is available, what the individual alternatives cost – plus valuable tips.

Table of contents

Most old people want to stay in their own home as long as possible: an outpatient care service can be used for care, which takes on tasks such as washing, administering medicine, serving food or special care measures that are associated with certain illnesses. The benefits depend on the level of care; the costs are covered by the health insurance company or a proportion of the nursing care insurance. There are five levels of care, there is no money for care level 1, for the others it is staggered between 332 euros and 947 euros per month.

If 24-hour care is necessary, you can look for a caregiver to move in at home. Many relatives rely on Eastern European nursing staff. These carers are usually not trained nursing professionals, but so-called senior companions who have completed further training. Important: German labor law prohibits employment around the clock. Anyone who chooses this option should determine the exact working hours in advance and ensure that care is available when the carer is free.

In most cases, a nursing service is still necessary because foreign caregivers are not allowed to provide medical care, such as measuring blood pressure or giving injections. Medical treatment is paid for by health insurance companies and is prescribed by the doctor. If a foreign worker is placed through an agency, it costs around 2,800 to 3,500 euros per month.

Assisted living

This form of living is something in between your own apartment and a retirement and nursing home: these residential complexes have barrier-free apartments of various sizes for seniors who are still independent and mobile or who only need individual assistance. Important: There is often an age limit; only seniors up to 80 years of age are accepted. And the waiting lists are often long.

A special form are care shared apartments or outpatient residential groups: Here, three to twelve seniors live in a shared apartment “for the purpose of jointly organized nursing care,” as the Federal Ministry of Health puts it. These shared apartments are particularly supported by nursing care insurance (more information at this link).

The costs for accommodation in assisted living are around ten percent higher than a comparable rent or purchase price in the region: This is due to the barrier-free facilities and the increasing demand. A care allowance is added on top.

Life in a nursing home

A nursing home is often the most expensive option for living in old age. Currently, costs continue to rise due to the increased minimum wage, the shortage of skilled workers and the energy crisis. Depending on the facilities, location and region, the costs can quickly add up to several thousand euros per month, as accommodation, full meals and care services have to be paid for. According to the Association of Substitute Insurance Funds, the average personal contribution in the first year of stay was 2,871 euros per month.

The residents must use their entire assets (including real estate or stocks) to pay; they are only allowed to keep a sum of 10,000 euros (the so-called protected assets). If your pension and assets are not enough, you can apply for social assistance. The children can also be obliged to contribute to the costs or to cover them (the so-called parental maintenance): According to the so-called Relatives Relief Act, this is only possible if they earn more than 100,000 euros gross per year. Only the income of the respective adult child is taken into account, not the income of the entire couple – so sons or daughters-in-law do not have to pay for their in-laws. Help can be found to calculate how high the proportion that adult children have to pay is on this website.

Good to know: First and second degree relatives are entitled to up to ten days of time off work (unpaid leave) each year to organize care, such as renovation work, organizing short-term care or home accommodation, etc.

Published in stern care booklet 01/2024

source site

Related Articles