If you’re looking for a comfortable, vibrant retirement community, you should consider cost, amenities, quality of care, and reputation. If you can, ask friends and family members for their insights. Many retirees searching for assisted living in Florida also use sources like Yelp and Medicare for ratings and reviews.
You’re off to a great start if you are already doing these things to find the ideal community for yourself or a loved one. Your diligence will help you find the perfect place to live. However, there is one detail that many people never consider. Before you finalize your choice of Florida assisted living facilities, ask about their Fitch Rating.
What Is a Fitch Rating?
Fitch Rating is an American credit scoring company that assigns ratings to various institutions in multiple sectors, including active living communities. These ratings measure a company’s economic stability, creditworthiness, and other factors relating to financial health.
Why should you care about this? Fitch Rating is one of the “Big Three credit rating agencies in the United States. It’s also one of only three organizations recognized nationally for its statistical ratings, and it will help you determine whether a living facility will or will not meet the financial commitments it makes in your contract.
Why Does Fitch Rating Matter When Choosing Assisted Living in Florida?
Anyone looking into Florida Independent nursing facilities should be concerned about creditworthiness. The Fitch Rating is one of the best measures of this.
While each assisted living community operates under its own standards, most require a significant financial investment from residents. This often comes in the form of an entrance fee and an additional monthly service fee.
The entrance fee guarantees a spot in the community and access to additional levels of care as needed. The monthly service fee covers a range of amenities. These costs can vary widely depending on the contract chosen. However, many retirees will spend a significant portion of their savings and monthly income on these costs. When you choose a community like Westminster with a high credit rating, you can feel confident that your investment will be well-spent.
The Benefits of a Retirement Community with Great Credit
When you choose a retirement community that is financially healthy with an excellent credit rating, you are more likely to experience:
- Excellent food and amenities
- Great staff to resident ratio
- Low staff turnover
- Assurance of lifelong stability
- Excellent response to maintenance needs
- The care you need at every stage of life
Most importantly, you will know that your retirement community has the financial resources and creditworthiness to meet its financial obligations in any situation.
As we have seen over the past several years, crises can have devastating impacts on retirement communities. Sadly, the pandemic has led to many communities going bankrupt. Even before that, natural disasters and economic downturns have had similarly tragic results.
Final Thoughts
Please do your research before you invest a significant portion of your retirement savings and income into a retirement community. A community’s Fitch Rating is indeed an indicator of their ability to provide you with the care and amenities you need. It’s something you should take into consideration with other ratings and reviews.
