Why now is a good time to plan for frailty years
Planning for the frailty years or future – and all the challenges it may bring – can help achieve quality of lifestyle as well as quality of care.
Plan for frailty years
A new year has started, and while we are unsure what challenges COVID will continue to send our way, we hope the future starts to look brighter.
Planning ahead for frailty years can help reduce stress levels. With awareness and planning ahead of time, you can maintain control and choice, have access to financial means to pay for care, and reduce stress for you and your family.
One thing we do know is that aged care reforms and funding issues will continue to be an important topic, making awareness and planning ahead increasingly more important. And we are here to help. This article uses a basic action plan to help you prepare for a day when you won’t be able to look after yourself and will require additional supportive care.
As the Baby Boomer generation starts moving into their frailty years, demand for aged care services will continue to grow, and funding will continue to be a challenge. This will likely raise discussions and lead to reforms around aged care funding, including the payment split between Government and consumer contributions. A recent report on aged care funding by the Actuaries Institute shows that the Government currently funds 96% of care costs in the aged care sector, compared to 75% of broader health care costs. Over the next decade the government funding in aged care is expected to double (and exceed expenditure on the age pension) but even so, it is likely to be insufficient to meet the growth in demand and could lead to increases in consumer contributions.
Planning ahead for your frailty years to help get what you want is very achievable, particularly if you follow this simple action plan:
Aged Care Options
Where do you want to live if you can’t support yourself any longer? Take some time to look into an aged care center near you or in a place you enjoy, such as a beach area or a neighborhood near your family. Arrange a site visit once you’ve confirmed the location. Visiting a facility will give you an idea of the level of care delivered, the cost (is it within your budget?) and the services available (e.g. gym, occupational therapy, hairdresser) that you can enjoy during your frailty years.
Finances
How will you pay for your aged care costs? The key will be to assess if you can afford it once you’ve picked which aged care option you want to support your potential high care needs when you’re in your frailty years.
Documents
What are the important legal documents I need to prepare or update? In your frailty years, dementia is a leading cause of the need for care services, it is likely that the client may need to transfer financial decisions to someone else when the time comes. If you have an enduring power of attorney (and guardianship) in place, this will be much easier. As a result, it is essential to have the right powers in place before a person loses legal capacity, as it will be too late to set up the powers once capacity has been lost.
In your frailty years, you should aim for quality of lifestyle as well as quality of care. Access to government subsidies will help to make care affordable, but good financial planning and access to your own financial resources will give you greater choice and control.
The start of a new year is always a good time to take stock of your financial plans and think about your expectations for your future. This should include questions about where and how you hope to age, what is important to you and what you can afford.
If you have concerns about your aged care needs, either imminent or future needs, or the needs of your older parents in their frailty years, we are here to help. We can help you understand how aged care works and review your retirement plans to ensure care needs are part of your planning process. And when the time comes, we can work the numbers to calculate the costs and provide advice on options to structure your finances to pay for the care you need.
Call our office on 1300 550 940 to make an appointment today, or ask us about aged care at your next review meeting.
