More than a year away from opening, Deerfield Retirement Community has already reserved 120 of its 171 apartment units that are now under construction in Clive. The response is coming from people who are in their 70s or older, however.

Though many people plan far ahead of time for their retirement, relatively few give much attention to where they’ll be living in their later years – until they recognize an immediate need.

At the same time, some financial planners say their clients are showing more interest in long-term-care policies.

From the retirement communities’ perspective, “the biggest challenge … is getting people to think about this early,” said Wynne Angell, regional marketing and sales director for Life Care Services LLC, which manages 100 retirement communities across the country. Deerfield is the company’s first development in Greater Des Moines.

“Usually we do find the adult children we’ve been in contact with, they’re much more open to starting at an earlier age if a parent has already been through it,” she said.

According to a national study released in May by the AARP, 83 percent of people over age 45 who responded said they own their own homes, and the same percentage said they “strongly” or “somewhat agree” they would like to stay in their current residences as long as possible after retiring.

However, a separate study by the American Society on Aging indicates that only 37 percent of adults say they have saved any money for long-term-care costs, compared with 77 pecent who say they’ve planned and saved for their retirement.

Planning early can pay off. A long-term-care policy premium that costs $800 a month at age 55 will cost twice that if you wait to buy it at age 65, according to the American Health Care Association.

Dean Nihart, co-owner of Planners Professional Services Inc., a registered investment advisory company in West Des Moines, said his clients don’t generally consider where they’ll be living in their later years until they’re very close to retirement, or have already retired.

“More of my clients are looking at a townhouse or condo, and if health is a concern, they may look at a long-term-care policy,” he said. “There’s also a handful who have moved into situations where they can get care if they need it.”

Before considering purchasing long-term-care insurance, “generally you should probably have $200,000 to $250,000 in net worth, because it’s very expensive,” he said. People with assets from that level up to about $2 million are those who should consider it.

In the past couple of years, federal tax laws have changed to allow greater deductibility of premiums on long-term-care policies, said Margaret Van Houten, a West Des Moines attorney specializing in estate and tax planning.

“Without a doubt, people are buying [long-term-care policies], and buying them when they’re younger,” she said. “People in their 50s are now buying these. The policies are a lot better than they used to be. … I think personally that’s as important as life insurance, and more important for someone whose children are grown.”

Prospective residents of Deerfield are qualified financially by Life Care, based on factors such as their total assets, available pension income and their age, Angell said. Under the agreements residents sign, their monthly fees will be subsidized by the company if unforeseen circumstances cause them to outlive their assets and they can’t make their payments.

Generally, to qualify for Deerfield, a person must have a net worth at least twice the entrance fee, which for some units is about $200,000.

“One of the challenges in marketing this is people think they can’t afford Deerfield,” she said. “Two hundred thousand dollars sounds like a lot, but 90 percent of the cost is refundable to the person’s estate when they die or if they move. If people do plan earlier, they can afford it. A lot of people, when they sit down and go through the process, they’re very surprised by that.”