Aged Care — What About Me?
By David Williams
Longevity planning has the goal of enabling each of us to make the best of the rest of our life. It contributes to this by identifying key issues which can impact on our quality and length of life, how the key stages of our life can evolve, and what can be done, including how to make the best of the support of professional advisers in health, finance and estate planning.
My Aged Care is one of the seven key longer-term steps in longevity planning. It responds to our need for support once we can no longer manage the normal activities of daily living — our Dependency stage.
Aged care in Australia (and overseas) has been heavily criticised for both the service quality and the complexity of the financial decisions required. Substantial improvements are some way off. There are two ways to approach Aged Care — prevention and preparation.
Prevention
There are many reasons why we may become dependent. One of the benefits of longevity planning is its support for you in maintaining physical and mental well-being to maximise the possibilities of a healthy remaining life. Using your planning to frame health advice from your doctor and other health professionals (such as physiotherapists, dentists, counsellors, nutritionists) maximises your potential for deferring the need for aged care. Working actively on prevention is the best step you can take to address the current deficiencies in aged care services. Prevention is addressed in the Immediate Steps of longevity planning.
Preparation
Actively deferring the need for aged care is likely to reduce the period of dependency, but it’s still important to prepare for aged care while we are in the Able and Less Able stages of our longevity. This also involves decisions about Where Will I Live and Who Will Manage for Me When I Can’t — other longer-term steps in longevity planning.
The level of aged care support you require will depend on whether you are planning to stay in your home as long as possible or whether you plan on moving to retirement accommodation that provides it. To understand more about the level of government support available, visit the government My Aged Care website here. It’s also a good idea to get your own Aged Care Number once you are 65 via this website. This can speed up the process of accessing aged care services when needed.
Home Care
It may be possible to stay in your own home longer it is physically suitable and if family and friends can help with things like shopping, cooking and transport. Once you require more than casual support, you become eligible for government subsidized home care that can help with those everyday tasks as well as personal care, meal services and nursing care.
Residential Aged Care
When you can no longer live at your home, you may need to move to a residential aged care facility. This type of care can be permanent or short term, where support is available 24 hours a day. The My Aged Care link above also explains residential aged care alternatives.
Making Choices
Managing your way through the range of aged care options is complex. The decisions have emotional, legal, and financial implications. It’s a good idea to involve those who you have chosen to manage things and yourself when you can’t, since they will be involved in the consequences of the decisions you make. It’s also a good idea to decide who you will rely on in your aged care decisions well before you or your family need to act.
Many financial advisers are now trained to help you with financial and other aspects of making your decisions about residential aged care.
- Your own financial adviser
Financial advisers often have links with trained aged care specialists they work with in advising their clients. They may also be trained and supported by one of the following aged care specialist groups.
- Aged Care Gurus agedcaregurus.com.au/adviser
Aged Care Gurus want you to get informed and take control of your aged care journey. Their Principal, Rachel Lane, has written several books with Noel Whittaker including the best-seller “Aged Care, Who Cares?”. If you are considering a granny flat arrangement with family, downsizing to a retirement village, investigating home care or navigating the maze of residential aged care their accredited Retirement Living and Aged Care Specialist® advisers can help you.
- Aged Care Steps agedcaresteps.com.au/find-adviser
Aged Care Steps is an experienced aged care training and accreditation service which provides advisers with specialist skills and knowledge to support your aged care journey. You can access a panel of their accredited advisers on the above link.
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