Is your aging parent trusting the right Financial Adviser?

Our parents won’t be around forever. Nobody likes admitting it – or even thinking about it – but it’s something that we all have to face as we get older. We might not to be able to stop it, but there are steps we can take to ensure our parents are living their Good Life, regardless of their age.

Have the difficult conversation ASAP

Discussing aged care planning with your parent can be a daunting task, but if you do it properly, it'll save you – and your loved ones – a lot of stress in the future. As such, it’s best that you tackle this conversation with a qualified Adviser as soon as possible.

In my experience, whilst people save and plan for retirement, they rarely have an aged care plan in place. This results in rushed decisions, which can greatly impact your parent’s quality of life.

One of these rushed decisions is booking in to see an Adviser that doesn’t specialise in aged care.

Receiving advice is more important than you think

Planning for aged care might seem straightforward, but there are a lot of confusing and intricate details that most of us are unaware of. Because of this, you need to ensure that your aging parent is trusting the right Financial Adviser.

Always look for an Adviser that specialises in aged care advice.

Speaking to an aged care Adviser can help you and your parent understand all of the rules and regulations that come with each aged care decision you might need to make. These choices can make a huge difference financially – and can even mean the difference between qualifying for tax offsets and minimising the means-tested aged care fee.

Know your options

When we think of aged care, we often imagine staying in the one place for the rest of our lives. In reality, many people switch between aged care services throughout their life. In 2016-17, 40% of Australians who left home care chose to move into a residential aged care facility (GEN Aged Care Data, 2017).

An Adviser can plan for the scenario that your parent's health may deteriorate to the point that they need more intensive care (such as a residential home), meaning that you're prepared for the unexpected.

As you can see, there are many possibilities and options when it comes to aged care. An Adviser can help your parent with:

• Applying for the pension
• Moving into residential aged care
• Downsizing from their current house
• Receiving home care
• Entering a retirement village
• Understanding the rules around gifting
• Questions relating to aged care services

Most importantly, an aged care Adviser can assist your parent in discovering what decision will make them truly happy. And, when it comes to something as important as their final years, receiving the right advice is essential.

Our Senior Adviser, Matthew, specialises in aged care advice and has helped many clients understand their options throughout this confusing period.

If you’d like to know more about aged care options for yourself or your family, feel free to contact me directly on here or by calling us on 1300 388 285.