December 21, 2021 christine

Vol 11 Ed 12

Financial Care Services Newsletter
Volume 11 Edition 12 – 20 December 2021

Financial Care Services, the specialist adviser to seniors in transition to new lifestyles

Christmas Greetings

As 2021 draws to a close the team at Financial Care Services thank you for your support in 2021.
We wish you all a very blessed Christmas and a happy and healthy 2022.

May this holiday season be a joyous and safe celebration for you and your family.
We look forward to working with you in 2022 to ease your Centrelink challenges for an enjoyable retirement and a gracious entry to residential aged care.

Read our festive season tips for maintaining good health and productive family relationships.
You might then defer your need for residential aged care.

Financial Care Services ideas for surviving the festive season

Tips to keep your family out of hospital emergency rooms

Tidy the house before the family arrive especially look for

  • Tiny batteries, as used in hearing aids and remote controls, are lethal but easy to swallow
  • Medicine in bottles just ready to be sampled
  • Pills in containers on the kitchen bench looking very like lollies
  • Spare sleeping pills and painkillers in the bedside table draws, check the spare bedroom also
  • Bleach, detergent and other bottles of cleaning liquids at floor level

Now look in the garage for mower fuels and other poisons.
Snail pellets might be fun to toss around.

Check the decorations and the electricity cables to them.
Just one misstep could get your elders a fractured hip, a long hospital stay and direct entry to residential aged care.

Drink lots of water. Yes, that plain cheap, clean, tap water.
Plain water may be boring but the alternative of dehydration could get you beyond the hospital emergency rooms into a shared public ward for a few days attached to a drip.
Drinking water not more alcohol, could help maintain your balance.
Just avoiding a minor trip could save your dignity and your longer term independence.

Keep the seniors cool and well rested.
Prolonged standing and/or long walks in the heat can increase your risk of stroke and thus a speedy entry to residential aged care.

Watch those beautiful lighted candles and all of their little admirers.
Extinguish the flames totally if no responsible adult is staying focused on the candles.
Keep the matches out of reach of all junior pyro technicians.

Confine the cat to its enclosure or sleeping room.
The feline does not need to sample the prawns or the cream before lunch.
A kitten could climb to the star and entertain your guests with a swaying tree.
For real chaos, kitty’s weight might be enough topple the tree on to the lighted candles or even the whole lunch table.

The canines could all rest well away from the seniors.
Dogs can be distressed by the noise of fireworks in the neighbourhood or the minor surprise sounds of celebrations.
A sudden fast response from a canine could knock down a senior or small child, requiring a prompt first aider response.

Review the personal support and accommodation needs of all seniors.

Last summer we all stayed home fearing infection by covid.
Now it is two whole years since the last big family gathering.
For a senior, two years of hibernation has allowed for significant decline in mental and physical agility.

If your elders appear more fragile or more stressed, than last summer, start applying for additional support.
An ACAS Assessment early in 2022 could generate an entitlement to a ‘Help to Stay at Home’ package.
A little practical help might allow them to stay safe and secure at home for another year.
Remember, fully vaccinated support workers are allowed to continue services to frail seniors even during lockdowns.

Access to Respite Care in an aged care facility could also be available.

The Respite Care allowance could be held in reserve for when the younger generation are away on holiday or otherwise unavailable to help.
But beware, aged care facilities could be so protective of residents’ physical health that internal social events are minimised and visitors restricted.
The respite ‘holiday’ might feel like ‘prison’.

The ACAS assessment process could reveal that the seniors are not coping well at home;
they might just be good at covering up their physical and mental frailty.
Memory problems and declining decision making skills make living alone more hazardous.

Ask Christine at Financial Care Services for advice about aged care entry before selecting a placement.

The aged care marketing team might gloss over the full costs of good accommodation and any Additional Charges when selling you the great benefits of their facility.

Remember that Melbourne has more aged care beds available than frail seniors wanting immediate entry to permanent residential aged care.
Other States have more balanced numbers of vacant beds and potential aged care residents.

Take active steps to minimise family friction and overall legal fees

Appoint a person that you trust as your Enduring Power of Attorney now while you are young and fit.

The alternative is to have VCAT appoint a relative, friend or the Public Trustee, as your financial administrator when you are incapable of making sound decisions.

Your Attorney, and/or executor, would need access to your financial assets.
If your banking and investment accounts are only recorded on your computer then your Attorney could have a problem.
Please have a paper list of your banking, investment, insurance and utility accounts accessible to your Attorney.

Update your Will and tell your family where to find your Will.

Does your Will allow for your home to be sold to pay for residential aged care?
Problems arise if selling your home substantially reduces someone’s share of your estate.
The ‘loser’ might want the home retained despite the aged care cash flow challenges.

If your assets are not to be divided equally between all of your children then include a note as to why you chose another allocation.
Please remember to review your Will if you dispose of a specified asset or gift a substantial amount.

Treat yourselves to a review consultation with your solicitor.

Each adult member of your family could have a valid Will and appoint an Enduring Power of Attorney.

Finally enjoy the company of your family
Building good relationships now could ease the tensions in family discussions about residential aged care.

Holiday opening

Financial Care Services will not be ‘closing for the holidays’; we are just not taking calls on Christmas Day.
Our telephone message and email accounts will be checked regularly because we understand that seniors have challenges all through the year.
Our aim is to call you back on the next business day if we do miss your call.
Christine will be available for consultations with seniors and families during January.

Christine at Financial Care Services your independent adviser

Financial Care Services is an independent advisory service specialising in retirees of modest means and aged care entrants.
Our core values include working with clients in claiming DVA and Centrelink entitlements.

The team at Financial Care Services are here to answer your Age Pension questions and guide your understanding of aged care costs.

Help with Centrelink challenges is available from Christine Hopper at Financial Care Services, the specialist adviser to seniors in transition to new lifestyles.

Christine has neat handwriting just right for inserting your data into small printed spaces. She helps clients complete Centrelink forms.
Christine could help you with collating your supporting documents and then mailing your form to Centrelink.

Assistance with completing Age Pension Claims and the Commonwealth aged care means testing forms is available to clients of Financial Care Services.

Christine charges fees based on the work involved in advising you about pensions and aged care fee solutions.

To make an appointment for confidential, independent and professional advice about aged care, retirement lifestyle costs, granny flat or Age Pension issues please contact Christine Hopper or call +61 3 9808 0338.
______________________________

Financial Care Services

Christine Hopper
Financial Care Services Pty Ltd
Independent aged care, strategic lifestyle and Social Security advice for seniors in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Telephone – call +61 3 9808 0338
Email – contact info@financialcareservices.com.au
Address – mail to 172 Warrigal Road, Camberwell Victoria 3124
Website – visit financialcareservices.com.au
LinkedIn – connect https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinehopper1
LinkedIn Company – follow https://www.linkedin.com/company/financial-care-services/
Past newsletters – see http://financialcareservices.com.au/newsletters/
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Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter is of a general nature only and does not constitute “financial advice”.
All eligibility for Commonwealth benefits will be determined by Centrelink or DVA, based on your personal position as documented and the legislation and Regulations in force at that time.

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