Strategic Aged Care advice

It's always best to plan.....            

Some people use the trigger of retirement to choose to downsize their living space and move to other forms of accommodation.  A smaller house or apartment is the choice for many people while others opt for a 'Granny Flat'  in the grounds of another family member or a move into a retirement village.

These options are all part of the bigger picture that we refer to as Aged Care Strategies.  Even though an aged-care facility or other forms of care are not necessarily required the move into alternate forms of living is seen as the first step in what should be a planned path to enhanced quality of life in retirement.  Making the choice between these various options can have significant  ramifications on future costs of formal care and the benefits available to retirees through Centrelink. If time is available it is always best to plan in advance so that all options can be considered

Often the act of downsizing frees up some spare money that should then be invested to create additional income or maybe invested to enhance the financial equation later when aged care entry is envisaged.  A prime opportunity exists at this point if the property seller(s) meets the terms and conditions to be able to make a contribution of up to $300,000 (each) into superannuation.  This is called a Downsizer contribution and is available to people who are over age 55 and have lived at the property for 10+ continuous years and the contribution must be made within 90 days of the date of settlement of the property sale. Professional help is very important, there are so many options to consider that it is essential to have a person to help you that is not emotionally or personally involved in the decisions.

The best advice is to create a plan of action for elderly persons long before the need actually arises, we can help you to build that plan, this is our Life Pathway Plan.  However if time is against you then we can provide emergency planning assistance to get the best outcome within the time available.

There comes a time for some people when they can no longer fend for themselves, they need the full-time care of others.  Sometimes this fact becomes apparent without warning following a medical trauma for example.  At that point decisions often need to be made in a hurry and that often confuses the issue and the wrong decisions can be made at great cost.

The questions at this time usually relate to whether the family home should be sold or retained and how can the Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD) be paid.

Should it be paid with a lump sum up front, by periodic amounts or by a combination of lump sum and periodic amounts?  What about paying a higher level of RAD, what impact will this have if any on the ongoing costs associated with being in a care facility?  On the other hand what is the situation for people that do not have any real assets to be able to (or even be required to) pay the RAD, how will they fit into the system?

Sometimes in life it is better to pay a reasonable amount for advice that you might not need to use knowing that if you do need to use it that it is ready to swing into action.  Not having a plan could be a very costly mistake in some cases.