One-third of residents draw on their savings or wealth to pay

If France has nearly 1.5 million people over 85, a large part of them live in retirement homes. And for a third of these residents,
they must tap into their savings or sell part of their wealth to pay for this accommodation, reveals a study, published on Tuesday,
by the Drees.

Nearly 11% of the seniors surveyed sought the help of their relatives to pay the costs of Ehpad, and 16% think they will have to do so later, according to this study conducted in late 2016 by the statistical service of social ministries. These difficulties can be explained by the high price
retirement homes, with a median amount of 1,850 euros per month.

"An average stay of three years and four months"

But in half of the cases, the asking price is higher than this sum, as in the private for-profit establishments where the median financial participation reaches even 2,420 euros per month. This median price, obtained after deduction of the allowances and any contributions from the "obliged to eat" (children or grandchildren), is definitely higher than the average pension received by pensioners living in France, ie 1,500 euros net monthly. This financial difficulty can become more acute as the stay in the Ehpad continues and the savings of the senior dries up.

But "residents die at 89 years on average, after an average stay of three years and four months," reveals another study also published Tuesday by the Drees. "For a majority of residents," the Ehpad is "their last place of life" and therefore "the place of their death," says this document. Thus, in 2015, a quarter of the deaths recorded in France, or 150,000, concerned people living in retirement homes. If we consider only deaths of people over 75, this rate even reaches 35%.

By 2050, France will have nearly 5 million over 85 years

In early October, the government launched an "unprecedented" consultation on the financing of dependency, with the aim of proposing a law on this issue before the end of 2019. By 2050, France will have nearly 5 million over 85, against 1.5 today.

In the face of this demographic shock, spending on dependence, estimated today at nearly 30 billion euros annually (24 billion euros in public spending, the rest based on households), could explode. According to a study by the French Mutuality, published on October 1, the accommodation costs that remain the responsibility of residents are greater than their resources in more than half of the cases.