Home Instead Senior Care has commenced a new public education campaign to help family carers. “Our research and day to day experience shows there are many people worried about their ageing parents and are trying to care for  someone who says they’d rather not have any help at all” says local franchise owner Sarah Warner.

“This resistance can be a real problem for family carers – they can be worried about the safety of a senior loved one forgetting food on the stove or neglecting to take their medications. We are spreading the message that keeping fiercely independent seniors safe at home isn’t a lost cause; there are solutions for them and their family carers.”

The campaign includes a free a resource booklet When Seniors Say No! – overcoming resistance to assistance and features practical tips and insights.

The Home Instead Senior Care survey revealed that 42% of carers spend more than 30 hours a week caregiving. And that’s what makes countering that resistance to assistance so important. “Many times family carers make assumptions but never ask: ‘Mum, I’ve noticed that every time I bring up having someone come in to assist, you don’t want help”.

Why is that?

Sometimes the parent doesn’t realize they’re being resistant. Also, reassuring a senior loved one that you have the same goal in mind will help. Start with something like: ‘My goal for you is to be independent, too. You know I can’t be here all the time. A little extra assistance will help you stay at home.’”

You can download the resource booklet When Seniors Say “No!” from the Home Instead website.

Busting the retirement village aged care myth

Many people who are considering buying a home in a retirement village want a community that has an aged care facility on-site, so that if they need higher care at a later date they can simply move a few doors down into the nursing wing.

This assumption about care is a common misconception among people considering retirement villages and I’ll tell you why…

Firstly, 95% of the Australian population aged over 65 years choose to age in their own homes and the bulk of the care industry is set up to cater to this market. There are any number of care services that can be brought into your home to help you stay there as long as possible, so unless you need constant care or supervision you can stay in your own home. The same applies to retirement villages – if you need care you can arrange this with an external provider and have the care brought into your home in the retirement village (this typically applies whether the village provides care or not). This means you don’t have to find a retirement village that has an aged care facility on site.

Secondly, many people assume that if they live in a retirement village that provides aged care, once they need the aged care they simply move into the aged care facility. Not so. Retirement village operators that offer aged care typically only do so in a limited way, because they make their money from the sale of independent living units, not running aged care beds. Therefore the ratio of aged care beds to independent living units in a retirement village is low. There is no guarantee that when you need higher care that a bed in the on-site facility will be available for you.

Finally, the move from your independent living unit into the on-site aged care facility, whether it is within the same retirement village or not, typically requires you as the resident to execute a sale of your independent living unit and the purchase of a bond to move into the aged care facility. The nature of retirement village purchase contracts position the bulk of the fees and charges associated with your retirement village lifestyle into the exit and resale of your unit. The high fees that can sometimes be charged mean that you may not have enough money remaining to fund your entry into the on-site aged care facility.

So unless you need a level of care right now, or have a debilitating illness that destines you to requiring care in the medium term, I think there is no need to restrict your retirement village search to only those facilities that provide aged care.

PS. If you do need aged care, make sure you check out my post on supported living HERE. Also, check out Rachel Lane & Noel Whittaker’s new book Aged Care, Who Cares? to help you navigate the complexities of Australia’s aged care system.

It's aged care Jim, but not as we know it!

Supported Living is a relatively new concept out of the US that is making significant inroads into the Australian retirement village market.

In essence, Supported Living is where residents live in their own studio, one, two or three bedroom apartment, and any care services that are required – from simple cleaning & laundry through to palliative care – are brought to the resident in the home. This is different to most retirement villages that offer aged care, in that residents are not forced to move out of their independent living unit into an hostel or hospital environment, which in some occupancy contracts can be forced on the resident at the discretion of the retirement village operator. Residents can therefore stay in the comfort of their own home and couples do not have to separated in the event that one spouse needs a higher level of care than the other.

The Supported Living concept is becoming the preferred option for people who want  to avoid the horrors of Australia’s aged care system. Ironically, the reason why the Supported Living concept is so successful (for both operators and residents) is that it operates under state retirement village legislation and not the Commonwealth Aged Care Act.

Residents buy a right to occupy a Supported Living unit through a lease or licence under what is known as a Deferred Management Fee scheme, meaning that there is an Ingoing Contribution (the purchase price), a village fee (charged weekly, fortnightly, monthly or quarterly, generally around $100-120 per week), a deferred or departure fee upon exit (calculated as a % of the purchase price or re-sale value of the unit) and any capital gains upon sale of the unit are typically split with the owner. For more information on Deferred Fee schemes check out our video tutorial HERE. Any services that are required such as cleaning, meals, laundry or personal care or paid for separately and in some instances may be subsidised by a government benefit.

I am a huge fan of Supported Living for the following reasons:

• The physical product is significantly better than what you find in Aged Care hostels (I would put my Mum into one of these, whereas I probably wouldn’t put her into a typical nursing home);
• The business model is sustainable for the village operator;
• Couples are not separated if one spouse requires a higher level of care;
• Retirees who lack mobility experience better social exposure;
• Most, if not all, of the care services are provided on site by the village operator;
• Care can be brought in quicker, and for shorter periods of time than when you use an external provider; and
• The purchase arrangements, while a little more confusing than what most people are used, are market-driven and transparent, unlike the aged care bonding system.

Is Supported Living appropriate for you?

I would encourage you to investigate a Supported Living option if you:

• Are aged in your late 70′s or beyond;
• Experience on-going health issues;
• Expect to start needing care or assistance with some daily living tasks in the next 12-18 months; and
• Couldn’t bear the thought of living in an aged care hostel.

Just make sure you talk to us at Find My Retirement Home first to make sure you get independent advice!

If you are interested, here are a couple of Supported Living operators:

Ocean View Banora Point (QLD/NSW border)

Tall Trees (2 x properties in south Brisbane suburbs)

Seasons Supported Living (2 x properties in north Brisbane suburbs, 1 under construction on the southside, 2 x Sunshine Coast)

Sunrise Supported Living (VIC and northern NSW)

If you know of any others, please let us know!

Many people are confused about the difference between a retirement community and an aged care facility, and I would certainly agree that the lines appear to be blurring between the two.

So what is a retirement village?

A retirement village is basically whatever is defined as a retirement village in your state or territory’s retirement village legislation. Typically, the legislative definition describes it as a property where retired or older people reside, and they purchase a right to occupy (usually via a lease or licence to occupy) and may purchase additional services for a fee. A village needs to be registered under the state retirement villages act in order for it to charge all of those weird and wonderful fees like deferred management or exit fees.

However, you may have heard of other retirement living facilities such as an Over 50′s or Over 55′s village, or a lifestyle resort. These complexes typically sell you the freehold title to the built structure (the house) and then lease you the portion of land it sits on. These developments come under the state or territory’s manufactured homes legislation, usually the same legislation that covers caravan parks and the like.

Other retirement-style facilities include freehold complexes, where you own the freehold title to the unit. These facilities may or may not be registered retirement villages and may or may not charge all of the same fees (such as deferred management or exit fees) that you will find in a village operated under the retirement villages legislation.

There are around five different types of purchase and occupancy arrangements for retirement villages and each one has its own framework of fees, charges and complexity. Generally speaking, the occupant pays an upfront fee similar to the freehold value of the property, then a small regular fee during their occupancy, and a larger deferred fee upon exit.

Retirement villages are typically targeted to retirees who can live independently, although many villages now offer some care services as well.

Aged Care on the other hand, comes under the one Commonwealth Aged Care Act 1997, which dictates how the charges and occupancy is arranged. There is still a fair bit of discretion on the operators behalf as to the quantum of charges, and you should be sure to get good advice from a financial planner skilled in the aged care area before you sign anything. As with retirement communities, certain aspects can be negotiated and you should never rely on the company sales agent to give you the right advice.

Under the aged care model a resident may be charged for the care and services provided, as follows:

• Basic daily fee – as a contribution toward accommodation and costs of daily living.
• Income tested fee – as a contribution towards the costs of care.
• Accommodation payment – as a contribution towards capital accommodation costs.
• Extra services charge – applies to residents occupying extra service places (both permanent and respite) for the provision of a significantly higher standard of accommodation services and food.
• Additional service fee – where the resident requests or agrees to additional services (such as newspapers and hairdressing).

Aged Care facilities are targeted to seniors who need an element of nursing support in their day-to-day lives. This can range from a little assistance through to full palliative care. You can find out more on the Australian Government’s aged care website.

I think the confusion arises where you have retirement villages which offer an aged care facility within the same complex as the independent living units. These villages are called “integrated villages” and seek to offer a complete spectrum of care to alleviate the need for its resident’s to ever move again. Well-planned complexes will have the aged care area well separated from the independent living area so that able-bodied residents don’t mix with those who are requiring care.

Integrated facilities typically offer aged care as an incentive to potential purchasers interested in the independent living units, because this is where operators make their money. It is worth noting however that there is usually no guarantee to an existing resident of the village that there will be a place for them in the aged care facility, and they may still have to go onto a waiting list for a place. You may also have to sell your existing unit to fund your aged care place, and the fees associated with a sale of your residence can seriously deplete your capital base.

The aged care facilities within a retirement village may operate under the Aged Care Act 1997 and charge the purchase and occupation fees accordingly, or they may simply charge a weekly/monthly rental, or they may operate under the same deferred management fee schemes as the independent living units within the retirement village.

The whole area of aged care and retirement communities can be a real minefield. I strongly suggest that you find a good financial advisor who can guide you through the process and make sure you get the best deal you can.

If you would like to know more about Aged Care, Noel Whittaker and Rachel Lane recently published a book called “Aged Care – Who Cares?”. To promote the book they are running a series of aged care seminars in Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast. The seminars are free and I would strongly encourage you to attend if you are interested in learning more about aged care.

The details for the general public seminar are attached here: WM Invitation – Aged Care Public Sessions 2011. Make sure you call to book your seat – previous seminars have booked out.

The details of the seminar aimed at aged care operators and industry is attached here: WM Invitation – Aged Care Industry Conferences 2011.