Part 3: Becoming Financially Prepared for the Second Half of Your Retirement

In this final part of our three-part series on the real costs of living during retirement, we’ll look at the costs related to supportive care. The purpose of this series has been to gain a better understanding of the costs so that we save more effectively in our working years.

When you’ve exhausted your ability to live at home, either the home you own, a condo or rental, moving into an assisted living facility may be your next step. Some are designed for long term health/medical care, which could include palliative care, and/or support for Alzheimer’s, dementia, and critical diseases that affect a person’s mobility. Other facilities are designed for more active lifestyle.

According to the Comfort Life website:
- Costs are inconsistent across the country
- They are usually paid monthly, like rent
- Depending on your personal needs and the facility’s location and services, monthly rates can be as low as $1600 and as high as $6300
From the same website, here is a list of the average lowest monthly retirement home rent across Canada (information collected in 2025):
- Kelowna Area: $2,703
- Ottawa: $3,606
- London : $3,615
- Calgary: $3,783
- Mississauga: $3,948
- Toronto: $4,445
- Vancouver: $4,620
- North Vancouver: $4,628
In facilities that provide medical and Personal Support Workers, some of these costs can be claimed in your income tax.
According to the CRA website, you may be able to claim as medical expenses the salaries and wages paid to all employees who do the following tasks or services:
- Food preparation
- Housekeeping services for a resident’s personal living space
- Laundry services for a resident’s personal items
- Health care (registered nurse, practical nurse, certified health care aide, personal support worker)
- Activities (social programmer)
- Salon services (hairdresser, manicurist, pedicurist) if included in the monthly fee
- Transportation (driver)
- Security for a secured unit
You cannot claim the cost of any of the following:
- Rent (except the part of rent for services that help a person with daily tasks, such as laundry and housekeeping)
- Food
- Cleaning supplies
- Other operating costs (such as maintenance of common areas and outside grounds)
- Salaries and wages paid to employees such as administrators, receptionists, groundskeepers, janitors (for common areas), and maintenance staff