"Living in a retirement village has the capacity to be a great lifestyle decision, sadly it also has the capacity to be your very worst financial decision." - RETVILLDOTNET.
An example for a village with the Deferred Management Fee calculated on the ingoing $$$.
"My father must have been one of the few people who lost money when he sold his home in a booming Melbourne property market. This huge loss on his home, in a popular suburb not far from the CBD, was despite it selling for more than he paid for it. The problem? He bought into a retirement village." - Diana Thorp. Sunday Herald Sun. 22/08/21
An example for a village with the Deferred Management Fee calculated on the outgoing $$$.

Sunday 30 September 2018

Start Planning for Long-Term Care


Why and How to Start Planning for Long-Term Care

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, “someone turning age 65 today has almost a 70percent chance of needing some type of long-term care services and supports in their remaining years.” It may not be the most pleasant discussion topic, but getting ahead of the game with long-term care can improve your chances of maintaining your quality of life for years to come. These tips will help get you started in the process.

Photo Credit: Pexels

Planning for Care

The first step is to plan. This can be done by assessing your likelihood of needing long-term care and making efforts to prepare for it.

Look at Your Lifestyle

Do you eat a healthy diet? Do you exercise regularly? Do you drink excessively or use recreational drugs? How you answer these questions can have a lot to do with whether you will need long-term care, as well as what level of care you will need if you do need it. Taking any measures you can to maintain your health can significantly reduce your risk of injury and illness. Also, eat with nutrition in mind, and make your body stronger through fitness. Don’t drink excessively or do drugs, and think of any other ways you can improve or maintain your health.

Modify It

You can also set yourself up to age in place by adding home modifications now that will be useful down the line. Do some research and think of any upgrades that could keep your home accessible when you’re older. A few examples are:

  • Installing railings on both sides of the stairs
  • Using automatic night lights
  • Removing all loose carpeting and/or rugs
  • Widening doorways to 32 inches
  • Installing levered door knobs

Moreover, making these modifications, along with others, can help you save money on the costs that come with long-term care.

Check for Hereditary Conditions

Considering your family history is another way to assess the probability that you will need long-term care. Is there a history of coronary disease, diabetes, early onset dementia, or other condition/illness in your family? Along with helping predict your chances of needing care, the answer to this question could impact whether you qualify for long-term care insurance.

Paying for Care

Next up is paying for long-term care. Here are some of the options.

Tweak Your Retirement Plan

A lot of seniors go to great lengths to form elaborate plans for retirement, only to leave out one important factor: the possibility of needing long-term care. If you do end up needing it and haven’t prepared, it can take a good chunk out of your retirement savings (if not all of it). Making long-term care a part of your retirement plan can help prevent this shock.

Consider Insurance Programs

Long-term care (LTC) insurance can be a great option to pay for future costs. Whether you qualify for it can depend on your age and financial situation. While you can apply for LTC insurance in your 50s or 60s, you can get covered at a better rate if you get it in your 40s. If LTC insurance is not available, check to see if you can add a rider to an existing life insurance policy, which uses a portion of your death benefits for long-term care.

Save

Another option is to open a health savings account (HSA). You can currently deposit up to $3,450 per year of tax-deductible contributions and an additional $1,000 if you’re age 55 or older. If you have a family insurance plan, you can deduct up to $6,850 per year. Also, any money left over in an HSA will roll over to the next year, and most withdrawals are tax-free. Along with HSAs, you can opt to use your personal savings. This means you save up enough money to pay out-of-pocket or designate some of your investment plan for care expenses.

Long-term care is not something you want to think about. It’s not something you want to plan for. However, it eventually becomes a reality for most people. The best time to prepare for long-term care is before you need it, so start planning for the possibility and costs today.


Article by Lydia Chan.

Lydia is the co-creator of Alzheimerscaregiver.net, a website that aims to provide tips and resources to help caregivers. Her mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and Lydia found herself struggling to balance the responsibilities of caregiving and her own life. She is passionate about sharing her knowledge and experiences with caregivers and seniors. In her spare time, Lydia finds joy in writing articles about a range of caregiving topics.


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Function of Government

The role of government is to create an environment for commerce to function whilst at the same time protecting retirees and particularly vulnerable retirees from both financial and emotional harm emanating from that function.

The Victorian Retirement Villages Act 1986 provides the environment for commerce to function but fails to fully protect retirees from financial and emotional harm as a result of it.

The Victorian legislative definition of a retirement village in demanding the payment of an 'in-going' amount without the transfer of property ownership is a major contributor to that financial and emotional harm suffered by retirees.


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