{"id":3622,"date":"2026-06-30T21:36:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T21:36:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3622"},"modified":"2026-06-30T21:36:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T21:36:24","slug":"5-things-you-need-to-know-about-retirement-planning-in-the-triangle-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3622","title":{"rendered":"5 things you need to know about retirement planning in the Triangle, right now"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Nearly a quarter of all North Carolina residents will be 65 or older by 2060. For many, remaining in their homes through old age is the primary goal, but it\u2019s not always feasible. Aging experts encourage people to plan ahead to help with making tough decisions later in life. The News & Observer\u2019s guide aims to help. Here\u2019s how to begin that search and what to know to ensure loved ones have a safe place to live.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n

Read more Religious instruction, public schools and the NC budget: 5 things to know<\/a><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re approaching retirement in the Triangle, the time to plan for long-term care is now \u2014 not after a fall, a diagnosis or a hospital discharge sets the clock ticking.<\/p>\n

North Carolina\u2019s senior population is projected to jump from 1.9 million to more than 2.8 million people 65 or older by 2042.<\/p>\n

Here are six things to know, drawn from The News & Observer\u2019s reporting<\/a> on senior care in the Triangle.<\/p>\n

Nearly a quarter of all North Carolina residents will be 65 or older by 2060. In 88 counties, there are already more people over the age of 60 than there are people under the age of 18, according to state demographic data. In 2023, people 85 and older were projected to be the fastest growing group in the state<\/a> over the next 20 years.<\/p>\n

That growth is colliding with limited capacity. There are just 66 continuing care retirement centers, or CCRCs, in North Carolina, with a quarter of those facilities in Wake, Durham, Orange or Chatham counties. CCRCs include multiple levels of care for people including independent living, assisted living facilities, skilled nursing homes and memory care facilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cA significant number of the CCRCs occupancy is high, and most of them have pretty extensive wait lists for people to get in, so there is a huge demand for it,\u201d said Deputy Insurance Commissioner Jeff Trendel, who oversees the financial oversight and special entities division.<\/p>\n

Some seniors wait over a decade for a spot.<\/p>\n

Aging experts repeatedly warn that too few seniors plan ahead and are forced to make quick decisions after a medical emergency.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the worst things you can have happen is somebody has a fall, the doctor comes in and tells the family they can\u2019t go back to the home where they\u2019ve lived for 50 years,\u201d said Mary Bethel, chair of the North Carolina Coalition on Aging\u2019s Board of Directors. \u201cWhat\u2019s your next plan? What are you going to do?<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if people haven\u2019t thought about this or haven\u2019t planned ahead, then they have three or four days to mitigate this and figure out what\u2019s going to happen with them for the rest of their life. That could be very daunting.\u201d<\/p>\n

The North Carolina Department of Insurance licenses and regulates CCRCs, focused on financial solvency and disclosures. The state has intervened only once<\/a> \u2014 in 2023 with Aldersgate, a CCRC in Charlotte that was \u201cinsolvent or in imminent danger of becoming insolvent,\u201d NC Health News reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost CCRCs require a large entrance fee when the resident moves in, and some of those contracts are refundable,\u201d Trendel said. \u201cBecause of that large entrance fee that people are paying, there is a fair amount of risk that people are taking by paying that money, whether it\u2019s refundable or not. They\u2019re putting their confidence in the provider that they\u2019re going to provide the goods and services they\u2019re contracting for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Years later, a Raleigh neighborhood remains divided on removing a slave-owner\u2019s name<\/a><\/p>\n

Before signing anything, review a facility\u2019s financial disclosure statements through the Department of Insurance portals at ncdoi.gov\/licensees and apps.ncdoi.net.<\/p>\n

This is the most common misconception among the families calling Autumn Cox, regional ombudsman for Central Pines Regional Council\u2019s Area Agency on Aging.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day they call, and they\u2019re like, \u2018Oh, but mom has Medicare,\u2019\u201d Cox said. \u201cIt is a common misconception, because a lot of people assume that because you have Medicare, that\u2019s going to just pay for it, and that\u2019s not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Traditional Medicare usually requires a three-night inpatient qualifying hospital stay to cover the cost of a skilled nursing facility. Even then, Medicare only covers the full cost of the first 20 days. The patient is responsible for a portion of the cost on day 21 and beyond.<\/p>\n

Medicare doesn\u2019t cover any costs associated with assisted living facilities. People pay privately or, eventually, qualify for Medicaid.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost two-thirds of people in nursing homes in North Carolina are on Medicaid now,\u201d Bethel said. \u201cMost of them were not on Medicaid when they went into facilities, but it doesn\u2019t take long for a person to spend down the little nest egg at $130,000 a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

If staying home is the goal, several programs and businesses can help, The N&O reported<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Many seniors moving to the Triangle don\u2019t consider whether their new home was built with accessibility in mind. The AARP advocates universal design standards: no-step access into the home and shower, a bedroom, kitchen, full bathroom and laundry area on one accessible floor, doorways wide enough for a mobility device, lever-style door handles and secured rugs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t tell you the number of people, older friends I have, who have moved to new houses with no downstairs bedroom,\u201d Bethel said. \u201cWhat are you thinking? If you break a hip, how are you going to get upstairs?\u201d<\/p>\n

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Elon University is now in control of Queens in Charlotte, accreditor says<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published June 30, 2026 at 6:00 AM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Approaching retirement in the Triangle? Learn key senior care planning tips on CCRCs, Medicare limits, Medicaid, PACE and making homes accessible before crisis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2303,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\n5 things you need to know about retirement planning in the Triangle, right now - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3622\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 things you need to know about retirement planning in the Triangle, right now - Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Approaching retirement in the Triangle? Learn key senior care planning tips on CCRCs, Medicare limits, Medicaid, PACE and making homes accessible before crisis.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3622\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-30T21:36:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=3622#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=3622\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\"},\"headline\":\"5 things you need to know about retirement planning in the Triangle, right now\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-30T21:36:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=3622\"},\"wordCount\":980,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=3622#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/3821fb563895057d739e17a5526519f5.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=3622#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=3622\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=3622\",\"name\":\"5 things you need to know about retirement planning in the Triangle, right now - Durham Moving Hub\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=3622#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=3622#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/3821fb563895057d739e17a5526519f5.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-30T21:36:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=3622#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=3622\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=3622#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/3821fb563895057d739e17a5526519f5.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/3821fb563895057d739e17a5526519f5.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"Newly completed homes and homes under construction are seen Monday, June 8, 2026, at Regency at Olde Towne, a 55-plus community in Raleigh that the developer describes as featuring luxury homes.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=3622#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"5 things you need to know about retirement planning in the Triangle, right now\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Durham Moving Hub\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"5 things you need to know about retirement planning in the Triangle, right now - Durham Moving Hub","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3622","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"5 things you need to know about retirement planning in the Triangle, right now - Durham Moving Hub","og_description":"Approaching retirement in the Triangle? Learn key senior care planning tips on CCRCs, Medicare limits, Medicaid, PACE and making homes accessible before crisis.","og_url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3622","og_site_name":"Durham Moving Hub","article_published_time":"2026-06-30T21:36:24+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3622#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3622"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85"},"headline":"5 things you need to know about retirement planning in the Triangle, right now","datePublished":"2026-06-30T21:36:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3622"},"wordCount":980,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3622#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3821fb563895057d739e17a5526519f5.jpg","articleSection":["Read today's Edition"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3622#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3622","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3622","name":"5 things you need to know about retirement planning in the Triangle, right now - Durham Moving Hub","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3622#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3622#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3821fb563895057d739e17a5526519f5.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-30T21:36:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3622#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3622"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3622#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3821fb563895057d739e17a5526519f5.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3821fb563895057d739e17a5526519f5.jpg","width":1200,"height":675,"caption":"Newly completed homes and homes under construction are seen Monday, June 8, 2026, at Regency at Olde Towne, a 55-plus community in Raleigh that the developer describes as featuring luxury homes."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3622#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"5 things you need to know about retirement planning in the Triangle, right now"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/","name":"Durham Moving Hub","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/durhammovinghub.com"],"url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3622\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}