The looming changes to the aged care system announced this week means it’s something we now all need to plan for.
Aged care and home care used to be something that you could worry about later in life, or, frankly, leave for your kids to worry about for you. But the recommendations delivered in the final report of the Aged Care Taskforce this week leaves us in no doubt: aged care and home care services are about to become something youThere were three big takeaways for me in the report for everyday people. The first is that people should be planning for their care needs when they plan for their retirement.
So if you see yourself needing to supplement this, just like you may have in your working life, by paying for carers, cleaners, gardeners or other support, you will need to budget for it, with care priced upward from $100-$120 per hour on weekdays. Then there’s care costs, which are largely funded by the government with a means-tested fee already in place, and this is not expected to change.
Or you have to pay a higher interest rate over and above your daily rate. This is something that frightens many people. It’s complex and you should get advice.But for most people, it is funded by either the money they have preserved in their superannuation for this process, from the sale of their home, or as a reverse mortgage, possibly through the Home Equity Access Scheme. The unused portion of your deposit is refundable when you die or if you leave care.
They benefit when surrounding themselves with like-minded communities and regular activities with peers, and ensuring they put in place supportive services that allow them to maintain their quality of living at home. Likewise, they embrace food delivery, home help and local exercise and community programs. Or, they contemplate a retirement community where all this is boiled in.