Navigating Aged Care Options & Eligibility in Australia
Listen in as I join the SMSF Mate podcast to explore the financial considerations, government support available, and the impact on your SMSF investments.
A move into residential care is triggered by the need to find a more suitable home – one that is safer and more appropriate for a person with increased care needs. As with any move to a new home, the person needs to pay for the right to reside. In residential care this is known as an accommodation payment (or for low-means residents it is called an accommodation contribution).
A low-means resident is a person who is assessed to have low financial capacity as at the date of entry into permanent residential care.
Under current rates, this is a person whose means-test amount (MTA) is assessed to be lower than $69.79 as at the date of permanent entry.
A person may need to move into residential care when they are no longer able to live safely at home. Their change in circumstances means they need to find a new home, which can better support their daily needs.
Home care is increasing in popularity for older Australians as an alternative to residential care. This is because your client can choose where to live – either at home or in a retirement community or perhaps with the kids – and the care they need will come to them.
Where a person with a life interest moves into aged care, the assessment of the life interest will depend on how it was set up and by who, whether there is a formal agreement and the terms of the agreement.
Granny flat arrangements can offer a practical housing solution, but they’re more complex than they seem. If you’re transferring money, assets or property in exchange for the right to live somewhere for life, it could affect your social security and financial position. Here’s what you need to know.
Retirement villages are an independent living option. In most cases the person does not own their residence. The person buys the right to live in a retirement village under a variety of different commercial arrangements.
Rising cost of living pressures, significant changes to the home care and aged care systems, and increasing life expectancy have created a perfect storm of financial challenges for many Australians approaching or already in retirement.
