My mom needs assisted living — but with just her Social Security and no savings, what are her best options?

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One of life’s hardest challenges is watching our parents grow old.

Consider this scenario: you’ve witnessed a severe decline in your mother’s cognitive health and ability to care for her own needs, but neither you nor your siblings are able to care for her around the clock.

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You decide it’s time to move mom into an assisted living facility, but she has no retirement savings that you know of, and currently gets by on a small Social Security check. She doesn’t like any of the facilities you've toured that accept those on Medicaid.

How can you best keep your mom comfortable for the final years of her life?

Accessing lost savings

While her finances may ultimately dictate what kind of facility she moves into, it’s worth making an effort to respect her wishes by seeing whether she can afford a nicer place.

Consider a thorough search for long-forgotten assets. Even if you’re mostly certain that your mom doesn’t have substantial savings, it’s worth trying to find out if she has any inactive financial accounts. According to a 2023 report by financial firm Capitalize, nearly 30 million 401(k) accounts worth $1.65 trillion were left behind by American workers who may have forgotten about them during job moves.

You can search for these types of accounts using the U.S. Department of Labor’s Lost and Found Database. If she suffers from cognitive impairment, accessing these funds could be tricky and require you to obtain legal authority, such as through guardianship.

Paying for assisted living with no savings

If a lavish facility is off the table after searching for lost funds, the focus should become your mother’s safety and ensuring her daily needs are met.

Medicaid generally does not cover room and board costs at an assisted living facility. However, many assisted and independent living facilities accept Medicaid Home and Community-Based Service Waivers that can cover some costs. Nonprofit or church-affiliated facilities may offer support as well.

You might also decide to bite the bullet and chip in to pay for a private facility. The median cost of an assisted living facility is nearly $6,100 a month, according to SeniorLiving.org. Prices can vary based on location, level of care, and length of stay.

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This is where long-term care insurance could really come in handy. This type of insurance often offers coverage for the costs of in-home assistance, nursing homes or assisted living facilities.

GoldenCare offers different long-term care insurance based on your loved one’s needs, including hybrid life, annuity with long-term care benefits, short-term care, extended care, home health care, assisted living and traditional long-term care insurance.

Read more: Nervous about the stock market? Gain potential quarterly income through this $1B private real estate fund — even if you’re not a millionaire. Here’s how to get started with as little as $10

Talking with your elderly parent

Moving parents out of their home and into a facility will always be challenging, but these are conversations families can have ahead of time to make the transition a bit easier.

If your parents are late in their careers or at retirement age, and they have some retirement assets, it’s worth asking if they’ve considered future care costs.

You may find one day you need access to your parents’ retirement accounts. Discuss getting power of attorney while your parent is still capable of granting it. They can’t sign a POA if they are incapacitated or a judge rules them mentally unfit, which could force you to pursue guardianship or conservatorship through the courts to gain authority over their financial affairs, including retirement accounts.

Building a cushion for retirement

As for you, the caregiver, you can do your best to be equipped for your own retirement and health care costs down the line. Consider investing as a means to build long-term wealth and cushion your financial future.

With platforms like Acorns, every purchase on your debit or credit card is automatically rounded up to the nearest dollar, with the excess placed into a smart investment portfolio. This way, even the most essential spending translates to money saved for the future, by investing in low-cost ETFs.

The best part? You can get a $20 bonus investment when signing up with a recurring contribution.

Alternative assets, like real estate and gold, can also help you inflation-proof your retirement savings. With a Thor Metals gold IRA, you can benefit from a tax-advantaged investing account. Their gold IRA can help stabilize your finances, allowing you to invest directly in physical precious metals rather than stocks and bonds.

To learn more, you can get a free information guide that includes details on how to get up to $20,000 in free metals on qualifying purchases.

By opening a Gold IRA, you’re looking out for your future self while bolstering your retirement.

As for real estate, commercial real estate can offer higher potential returns than residential real estate thanks to its longer lease terms, higher rental rates, and potential for greater appreciation. But direct access to the $22.5 trillion commercial real estate sector has been limited to a select group of elite investors — until now.

First National Realty Partners (FNRP) allows accredited investors to diversify their portfolio through grocery-anchored commercial properties, without taking on the responsibilities of being a landlord.

With a minimum investment of $50,000, investors can own a share of properties leased by national brands like Whole Foods, Kroger and Walmart, which provide essential goods to their communities. Meaning, you’re investing in companies that are more inflation-resistant than many other industries.

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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.

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