How much will Mum’s aged care cost??

At 7.30pm last night I had a call from a client whose Mother has had fall & she can’t get up. Also her Dad had a stroke only recently.

So the question I asked has she had an ACAT assessment & looked at places to go as there are waiting lists for everywhere.

Other questions I asked was where are the wills, does Dad & Mum each have enduring powers of Attorney & each state has different medical authorities to also complete.

Do today & even getting Dad to cooperate appeared a challenge.

Yes that will be the question for many a family & especially when they catch up over Christmas. They conclude as many do that now is the time that Mum needs to take that step.

The first step will be to have an ACAT assessment & find accommodation & that is another discussion & exercise. Both require time & that is too short & hence planning.

Mum will really have 4 costs.

Mum or Dad needs to pay for their accommodation costs & that will as everything does depend on their assets.

Yes Dad &Mum can only live in 1 place so either rent or the equivalent to home needs to be found. The aged care facility will have advertised prices but maximum is 550,00 at present.

This can either be shown as a Refundable Accommodation Deposit RAD which is equivalent to buying the right to live in the room. The RAD will have to be Paid in full or in part.

Or that amount can be paid on a daily basis DAP which is the RAD amount @ Government rate MPIR ~ 5.96% divided by 364.

However will she find a suitable facility?

2. The 2nd cost is what everyone pays which is the Daily Basic Care fee which is 85% of Mum’s pension. Currently Mum will Pay 51.21per day.

3. The third cost is the Means Tested Fee MTF & will depend on Mum’s & Dads assets & their income.

This test combines both their income & their assets into one number called Means Tested Amount MTA. And MTA = [Assessable income + assessable assets]/ 364.

As a variable then If Mum has a house then its value is capped to 168,351.20 currently.

If Mum has an income less that a threshold of currently 27,232 then her assessable income is 0.

If Mum’s MTA is calculated to be less than 54.39 then Mum won’t have to pay any MTF.

The 54.39 is the subsidy MAS = Maximum Accommodation Supplement that the government will pay to the facility. If mum has more than 54.39 then the government will pay less to the facility.

These costs are capped and daily is 244.97, annually is 26,041.09 & a lifetime of 62,498.66 currently.

4. The 4th cost is an Extra Service Fee which is for extra services which maybe optional depending on the room & Mum. The average cost is between 40 & 160 per day currently.

The big elephant in the room for both Mum & the family is the house.

This is an emotional decision but when, yes when, Mum passes on what will happen to the house.

How much renovation is required?

When is a good time to sell?

Do we rent it?

And many other questions not least being the funds for the RAD or the cashflow out to be found daily .

Yes these 4 fees can be found but this is not an easy time.

I recall our Mum saying ‘not today’.

I believe that we can generate significant financial certainty for you.

As others do then call us on 07 3848 1088 or email us or our website

John McAuliffe