Key points
- Planning for aged care early avoids crisis decisions and ensures choices align with personal values and family needs.
- Many Australians will require care during retirement; delaying planning increases stress and limits options.
- Specialist financial advice is essential, as aged care rules and strategies change frequently and impact family outcomes.
No-one likes to talk about getting old, but when you or a family member needs help, there’s no getting around it. Many of our clients want to know what choices they have in their older years – and before the crisis hits.
When should you start thinking about aged care?
Any age is a good time to start thinking and planning for aged care, regardless of whether you are in your early retirement years or are well into retirement. The need for care can arise suddenly or result from a more gradual decline in capabilities.
If you are in good health, aged care is probably not on your radar. But this is the best time to have the conversation – you’ve still got capacity and you’re not in panic mode.
Or, if you’re lucky enough to still have your parents, starting the conversation while they are healthy is definitely sensible. They might not be thrilled that you’re raising the subject, but it gives an opportunity to find out what is important to them when choices need to be made.
Don’t accidentally fall into these traps:
- Leaving it too late to have the conversation – once Mum or Dad can’t return home from the hospital, you’re in crisis mode. This is not the best environment to make life-changing decisions for anyone.
- Thinking it will never happen – unfortunately the statistics say otherwise. On average, we can expect to live 17-25% of our retirement with a frailty that may threaten our ability to live independently without care. With those odds, planning ahead is vital.
How to find help with aged care
Making an informed decision about aged care is incredibly important. Making the wrong decision can have far-reaching consequences for the whole family. When aged care decisions go badly, the stress can lead to family conflicts, fuelled by the Three G’s of aged care® – Grief, Guilt and Greed
However, not all advice is good advice. Aged care financial advice is a specialist area. The rules change constantly, as do the available strategies. This is why Todd Woods in our office is qualified as an Accredited Aged Care Professional TM to ensure we have the skills and knowledge to give you the right advice.
For more information, call us today on 02 4923 4000 to arrange an appointment to start your aged care planning.
®Aged Care Steps Pty Ltd
