At Maddick Consulting Group we are expert at providing Aged Care Advice and can help you through this time. Initially our advice is normally advice and explanation of Aged Care fees, what they are and how they are calculated. Initially it’s important to understand what is a RAD (Refundable Accommodation Deposit) and how it differed from DAP (Daily Accommodation Payment), either a RAD or DAP is the first fee you pay in Aged Care.
At the moment refundable deposits are generally around $450,000 but can be $700,000 or more, you will get your deposit back in full if you need to move to a different aged care facility or they will be paid out to your estate so you do not need to worry about losing these funds. If you do not pay a refundable deposit then you will need to pay a Daily Accommodation Payment on an ongoing basis, this will generally be quite expensive and is not refunded. It is generally not ideal to pay daily accommodation payments.
On top of the RAD or DAP you will have to pay aged care fees, there are two levels of care fees, a basic fee that every pays. This is 85 % of the basic aged pension, so if eligible for the pension then this will cover these fees. On top of the basic fee there is an additional income tested fee that you may have to pay depending on your level of assets and income.
Confusingly the Aged Care means test and the Aged Pension Income and Assets tests are different and calculated quite a different way.
After our initial advice and assistance understanding aged care fees we can also advice on financial strategies such as;
- Structuring your affairs so that you can claim the full pension
- Minimising means tested care fees
- Investing your surplus assets to generate returns to help pay aged care costs
- Advice and structuring financial affairs for the remaining spouse so that they can still afford to live outside aged care
When discussing aged care we generally charge a consult fee of $275 inc GST, in this first session we will get to know you and what is happening. We can also advise on the basics of aged care and start looking at how aged care fees will apply in your situation. Any additional work will be quoted before we commence.