Specialist aged care financial advice

Aged Care services can be ‘at home’ or in ‘permanent care’ and it is common to find that a person being supported with at home care eventually needs to move into permanent care.  It is important to seek advice and review the financial affairs of the person needing care and of course the flow-on effect of the financial situation of any spouse/partner or carer.

It is very important that at the time ‘at home care’ begins (if not before) to review that the essential documents such as a valid Will and Powers of Attorney are in place and that they represent the wishes of the aged person.  ‘Do it now’ is very much the advice here as cognitive issues may make it impossible to create or change these documents later.

There are a number of significant strategies that can be implemented that can have the effect later of reducing the cost of the Means Tested Fee providing the strategy is implemented long before the need to enter permanent aged care. 

Strategies involving gifting of substantial assets provide the desired impact 5 years after implementation.  The purchase of an annuity has a side benefit of reducing asset values from inception and growing over time and an insurance investment bond can help ‘reduce’ assessable income in situations where a person has a problem with the ‘Income Test’.

We list a range of important strategies later.

Things you should know: In preparing this material, no account was taken of the objectives, financial situation and needs of any particular person. Before making a decision on the basis of this material, you need to consider, with or without the assistance of a financial adviser, whether the material is appropriate in light of your individual needs and circumstances.