A Guide to University Retirement Communities

The traditional view of retirement is of seniors pursuing hobbies, spending time with their grandchildren and taking longer vacations. But some use this newly acquired free time to develop their understanding of new subjects that interest them. This includes enrolling in scholastic studies at established universities with a view to gaining recognized qualifications. 

Unlike younger students, whose purpose is typically to lay the foundations of a future career or to enhance their promotion chances, older learners often study for the love of learning. Figures published in 2022 by the Educational Data Initiative show 0.10% of adults aged 65+ are enrolled in postsecondary education. Since seniors make up 16.8% of the country’s population, this means almost 55,700 of them are studying at the nation’s higher learning institutions.

Seniors engaged in academic studies typically attend the university in person or participate in distance learning. However, a third way is becoming increasingly popular. A University Retirement Community provides the dual benefits of allowing seniors to live on campus while receiving the care their peers get in traditional senior living communities. This article offers you an overview of URC, how it differs from a standard residential care community and its potential benefits and likely costs.

A university retirement community is a unique type of senior living for older adults who want to continue learning in a classroom environment. Each community is affiliated with a college or university, some of which are also lifelong learning institutes. Seniors can attend classes alongside younger students also seeking degrees as well as enrolling in noncredit courses.

As each community works with its affiliated university to create a senior-friendly environment, you shouldn’t expect one to be like another. Some may have accommodations on campus, while others are nearby. Some may allow you access to the university’s amenities, such as the fitness center, while others may have their own amenities.

Expect housing at a URC to be different from dorm life. You’ll typically find they offer one-bedroom apartments at least, although two- and even three-bedroom apartments exist in some, as well as freestanding villas. Each is designed around the needs of seniors, so you can expect kitchens with utilities, bathrooms with walk-in showers and 24/7 emergency response systems.

Each URC is different. Some concentrate on one or two levels of care. Others, known as continuing care retirement communities, cater to seniors at all stages of health. They provide a continuum of care, from the minimum level of support for healthier seniors to tailored health care for those needing daily assistance. The following list provides a brief insight into each level. 

• Independent Living: A nonmedical level of care that can be described as aiding rather than caring for residents who are relatively healthy and fit. Typically, the facility handles housekeeping and transportation services. Other services, such as grocery shopping, pet care and moving-in assistance, are likely offered for a fee.
• Assisted Living: Assisted living is a nonmedical type of care for seniors who need help with activities of daily living, such as bathing and dressing. Residents get individual care plans, and the facility handles other aspects of daily life, including cooking meals and housekeeping. Residents often have on-site amenities, such as a beauty salon/barbershop, library and landscaped grounds with walking paths.
• Memory Care: This is very similar to assisted living. Safety and security are high priorities, so you can expect keypad-entry doors and secure courtyards. Staff also handle additional aspects of care, such as incontinence management and medication monitoring. It’s common to find therapists on-site delivering occupational, speech and physical therapies.
• Skilled Nursing: Residents receive care around the clock from medical professionals, including registered nurses and physicians. They get customized care plans to address their short- or long-term health care needs. These may include various therapies, wound care, injections, intravenous care and vital signs monitoring.

Although there are similarities between traditional senior living communities and URCs, there are notable differences. The following table deals with these in more detail. 

*Figure from Genworth Cost of Care Survey
**Some URCs include college fees in the monthly fee, which may account for the wide disparity.

***Amenities and services vary depending on the specific community. Always check with the community directly to find out what amenities and services are available. 

If you decide to retire to a URC, you may find it offers benefits traditional senior living communities can’t deliver. We touch on some of these in the following list.

• Intergenerational Learning: You’ll be exposed to the energy of youth, which can be a great motivator.
• Mentoring. You can use your previous education and how you applied it in the real world to mentor younger students starting their journeys.
• Cultural and Educational Events: You’ll have opportunities almost at your door to attend a wealth of events, such as theater productions, humanities lectures, musical performances and sporting contests.
• Like-Minded Residents: Since the URC’s unique selling point is its affiliation with a university, you’re more likely to find other residents who share an interest in your subject of choice or lifelong learning in general.
• Maintenance-Free Living: As with traditional senior living communities, daily living tasks, such as housekeeping, making meals and doing laundry, are handled by the community’s staff, freeing more time for study or socializing. 
• Potentially Prevent or Delay Dementia: Epidemiological studies reveal the concept of “cognitive reserve,” where people with more years of education develop symptoms of dementia later than those who’ve spent fewer years in learning environments.

Bring the below checklist with you as you tour URCs to ensure you choose a community that has everything you need. 

The diversity of URCs across the country and the facility-specific offerings of each make it impossible to give a definitive answer to how much they cost. According to UnionBanc Investment Services, entrance fees range from $100,000 to $1 million, with the average fee being $300,000. You may find these fees initially shocking, but it’s worth remembering they fund the facility’s operating costs, and they’re a prepayment for your care. Some URCs refund entrance fees under certain circumstances, such as your passing, while others don’t.

You’ll need to pay a monthly fee in addition to the entrance fee. This covers the standard services, such as accommodation and meals, and is subject to increases over time. You might also incur additional costs for services not included in the monthly fee, such as laundry, as well as utilities, including telephone and internet. The following table provides examples of the wide differences between costs for a single person.

*Entrance fee with 0% repayable
**Entrance fee with 60% repayable

The previous figures are specific, so they don’t reflect the wide variation in fees across the country. Since the most common type of URC is broadly in line with a CCRC, which provides a continuum of care from independent living to skilled nursing, it’s reasonable to assume the costs will be similar. According to Genworth’s 2021 Cost of Care Survey, the median monthly CCRC fees are:

• Assisted living: $4,500
• Nursing home (semiprivate room): $7,908
• Nursing home (private room): $9,034

These fees are only a guide because many factors can affect them, including the facility’s location, the care type it provides and the care provider’s pricing policies. For example, the median monthly fee for assisted living in Ithaca, New York, is $8,075, while the equivalent in San Antonio, Texas, is $3,413. For a nursing home semiprivate room in both locations, the median fees are $9,885 for the former and $5,232 for the latter.  

As is its policy with standard senior living communities, Medicare won’t pay for long-term custodial care in a URC community. It can pay 100% of costs for the first 20 days in a Medicare-certified skilled nursing facility and up to $200 for the following 80 days. However, this presupposes your URC of choice is Medicare-certified and your stay is only short-term, which is unlikely. Medicaid also won’t pay URC fees because the typical costs of university retirement communities put them out of reach of seniors whose incomes qualify them for financial assistance. Consequently, payment options are limited. But there are choices, as the following table shows.

University retirement communities are becoming increasingly popular with baby boomers who require varying levels of care but haven’t lost their love of learning. Approximately 10% of residents already have a connection with their facility’s university, although there’s no requirement to be an alumnus. If a combination of tailored care and campus life is appealing, and you find the costs affordable, URC may be an option worth considering.

View the map below to learn more about URCs throughout the United States. Click a state to learn about the URCs in that area.