Day: June 21, 2019

How Valuable is Aged Care Financial Planning as an Exercise?

aged woman trying to walk

Dealing with Sydney Aged Care Financial Advisers can feel like an unnecessary burden and time taken out of a week.

However, with the aid of these practitioners, retirees and families can protect themselves from complicated problems down the line.

Here we will look at the value of this exercise for all citizens.

 

Playing The Odds

Fortunately Australians have generations of data that illustrates how likely it is that we will need aged care financial planning in their lifetime. Almost one in two (48%) men and two in three (68%) women will live to an age where these operators can have an impact on their status. That is very much a case of playing the odds because the mismanagement of funds and failing to plan for future affairs can place an added stress and burden on loved ones.

 

Working Ahead of Schedule

When it finally dawns on a retiree or family that they have become ill or an asset has dropped in value, it won’t do them any justice to know they could have engaged aged care financial planning services ahead of time. These operators provide proactive measures to be ahead of the game and predict what could take place and how to cover all parties in the event that the transition to aged care does occur. From organising Wills and filing paperwork to giving the client various options, this is an exercise that understands how valuable time is as an asset.

 

Asking The Key Questions

aged woman

The questions that are asked by aged care financial planning services with their client can be incredibly simple but in many cases, they have never been considered before the consultation. They can include:

  • What type of home or facility would suit your needs?
  • How much have you saved for retirement and how much are you willing to spend on a transition to a home?
  • Have you considered renting as an option?
  • Do you have knowledge about the payment system or have you been briefed by a spouse or next of kin?
  • Do you know the level of care you need and will this increase over time?
  • Have you made moves to minimize financial risk such as diversifying assets?

Even breaching these subjects can present new opportunities and eliminate risks that were evident before the talks took place.

 

Bringing Trusted Parties Into The Process

Aged care financial planning operators in many scenarios won’t be able to work through all matters without any assistance from partners, children, friends or other trusted parties. This is a life changing transition and given the height of the stakes and the logistics involved, it can help to have someone else brought into the process during talks. These outlets will look to reach out to these people and pick their brain over managing the home, putting it on the market, selling off certain assets or handing them over to others. Even as a means of prompting certain actions and delaying other matters, they can be the sounding board to advocate for certain positions that are in the client’s best interests.

 

Tackling The Logistics

The sheer amount of logistics and paperwork that has to be carried out with aged care financial planning experts is an illustration of their level of expertise. From asset assessments to maneuvering through Centrelink documents, issuing statements of advice and legislating discussion papers, these matters need to be handled with the utmost importance and diligently filed. Any mismanagement in this domain can leave retirees facing legal consequences without any coverage or insurance if something should go wrong.

 

Summary

Aged care financial planning does not have to be a big scary ambiguous exercise that becomes overly complicated and confusing. It is designed to ensure that people who have worked their entire lives and have loved ones they want to look after can get the protections and safety they deserve.