Aged care as important as retirement for planners

Discussions about the often-frightening prospect of aged care should receive as much weight from advisers as retirement planning, a wealth manager says.  

Although aged care is frequently a dismissed topic, financial advisers have an obligation to unravel the complexity early to help their clients avoid last-minute decisions, according to Equity Trustees Limited aged care senior manager Anna Lawton.   

"Knowing how the rules and regulations affect one's financial position is as important in planning for aged care as it is for superannuation, and lack of knowledge can come at a huge financial cost," she said.  

"The challenge for financial advisers is to get retired clients to think about the very real possibility they will need aged care in their later years. As Australians live longer, the probability increases." 

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Lawton said unlike retirement, aged care is not something clients either anticipate or look forward to, which means they are unlikely to initiate the dialogue themselves.  

"Indeed, they are often in a state of denial," she added.  

"Deciding on an aged care facility that is at the standard you want, or can afford, can be difficult as there is not always a bed available at the time of need.  

"Pre-planning can help with this, by helping ensure people fully understand the facility options available to them and have put in place the financial strategy to best support this."