AUSTRALIA’S population is ageing. Within the next 40 years it’s expected that 21 per cent of the population – about 8.4 million Australians – will be aged 65 or over. 

Not only are we living longer, surveys have found that an increasing proportion of older Australians rate their health as good, very good or excellent. This means more older Australians are able – and are wanting – to contribute socially, culturally and economically to their communities.

Finding the right place to call home as we age is vital, from a financial and wellbeing point of view. Finance specialist Noel Whittaker has these tips:

1 Find a community you want to be a part of. Normally, real estate advice is “location, location, location”. In retirement it will be the interactions with other residents that are important. To quote a great Australian movie: “It’s the vibe.”

2 Understand your contract. Whether you are moving to a strata title unit, a retirement village, land lease community or aged care facility, your contract has wide reaching implications, so it is important to know what it is, what rights and responsibilities are attached to it, and how it will affect your pension entitlement and eligibility for rent assistance.

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3 Do your sums. The costs of retirement accommodation vary widely. To do a comparison, it may help to break the costs into three categories: the ingoing, the ongoing and the outgoing. In some cases there may be a few different payment options; be aware that if you are sharing in a capital gain you normally share in any capital loss too.

4 Have a budget. The cost of your new accommodation should be a part of an overall budget, together with your personal expenses such as utilities, food and entertainment. If you are going to receive services such as meals, domestic help or care, make sure you include these on top of the other charges and then add occasional expenses such as holidays and Christmas so you know you can afford it.

5 Seek advice. Crunching the numbers can be complicated. A specialist adviser can help you get it right. It’s also important to seek legal advice to ensure you have up-to-date powers of attorney and a valid will. That way you have a trusted person acting on your behalf and not tribunals or courts making important decisions for you.

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