Seniors February 2017

February 2017

QUALITY LIVING AND WELLBEING… From left, Shepparton Villages resident, Barbara Ingram with Division 2 nurse, Robyn Herbert. Photo: Emma Hillier.

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VICTORIAN SENIORS

A BENEFIT TO SENIORS‌ Tatura Pharmacy pharmacist, Emily Power can show you what the pharmacy can do to help benefit seniors. Photo: Alicia Niglia.

Looking after our seniors WEDNESDAYS are a special day for sen iors at Tat u ra Pha rmac y. Ever y Wednesday seniors are offered a 10 percent discount storewide (excluding prescriptions) as a special reward for the long standing support they offer the pharmacy.

The discount covers everything other than prescriptions such as the entire vitamin range, fragrances, all giftware, all skincare and cosmetics including the prestigious Elizabeth Arden.

Tatura Pharmacy also offer a free Medscheck service whereby the pharmacist will sit one on one with the patient and review their current medications, talk

through any concerns and make sure that the medicines are all still working for that patient. The Medscheck service is offered to all customers for free via an appointment. Chat to our friendly staff to book yours today.

Throughout the year we will be offering many other free services to convenience the Tatura community such as our upcoming free hearing tests in April.

Visit Tatura Pharmacy to have your medication list reviewed and to receive the personal service and professional care that you deserve. Drop in to 151 Hogan Street, Tatura or phone 5824 1043.

February 2017

Independent living in a

vibrant community KENSINGTON Gardens Shepparton is a vibrant and growing community within the boundaries of the city of Shepparton. If you’re looking for a quiet and peaceful estate to live, then you should be looking no further than this private lifestyle estate.

Kensington Gardens offers independent living at its finest.

Not only can you have a beautiful stand alone home with quality features, you can also enjoy the benefits of the $4.5M club house as an extension to your home. Join in the many social events and activity groups on a weekly basis.

Enjoy the freedom to travel and not having to worry about leaving your home behind - leave that to the management team of the estate.

Kensington Gardens manager, Peter Stanbrook said, “We are experiencing significant interest and growth at the moment with many new homes under construction and with a further eight to be started in the coming weeks, our builders will be very busy. Our next Open Day is March 18 and offers prospective clients the opportunity to meet our residents and hear about the lifestyle here at Kensington Gardens.”

The Kensington Gardens estate is open 7 days a week and an inspection is as easy as walking through the front doors at 80 Channel Road, Shepparton. For more information visit www.kensingtongardens.com.au/shepparton or phone 5820 5100.

COME TO OUR OPEN DAY… Kensington Gardens Shepparton manager, Peter Stanbrook and Alatalo Bros site supervisor, Mal Gorton are inviting the community to drop in on March 18 for the Kensington Gardens Open Day. Photo: Alicia Niglia.

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February 2017

Choosing your care provider and staying at home for longer

By Nicholise Garner A LOCAL connection can sometimes make the world of difference when it comes to the personal care and drive behind customer service. Shepparton Villages is locally owned and operated and they’re excited about changes to Home Care Packages that have come in to play.

Shepparton Villages CEO, Kerri Rivett said, “We are really so happy that elderly people who receive home care packages can now choose their own provider, rather than be allocated a service provider. This means that if they are unhappy with the care they have received they can change to whichever provider they choose.”

I asked Kerri what home care actually involves. Kerri said, “Home Care Packages

are services that an organisation like Shepparton Villages delivers to a client to keep them living in their own home for as long as possible. Providing assistance with services such as showering, shopping and general support. Here at Shepparton Villages we are very lucky to have our case manager, Kylie Alletsee coordinating care for our clients. Kylie is a local girl who has been with us for nearly two years and is both very warm and very professional, and ensures that our clients feel well cared for and enabled to stay in their own home for as long as possible.

For more information about Home Care Services at Shepparton Villages, phone 5832 0800 to speak to Kylie Alletsee.

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HOME CARE IS NOW YOUR CHOICE… Shepparton Villages home care coordinator, Kylie Alletsee.

Photo: Supplied.

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February 2017

Mooroopna’s little gem MOOROOPNA is blossoming with new restaurants and cafés, but this little town has always had its gems. Just over the bridge from Shepparton, Mooroopna Golf Club lays alongside the mighty Goulburn River. This 18 hole course is lined throughout with native Australian trees that offer a true challenge to the golfer. The club also boasts two well maintained grass bowling greens.

Mooroopna Golf Club manager, Craig Prothero said, “We’re just over the bridge from Shepparton and only eight to 10 minutes from Kialla, I would like to invite people to come and have a look at what this gorgeous course has to offer.”

Bob Shearer, past Australian champion, started his junior golfing career at Mooroopna and his name still appears on the junior trophy held at the club. Many great international and Australian players such as the great Peter Thompson and the legendary Gary Player also played Mooroopna fairways.

With two resident golf pros and a pro shop on-hand, the club offers members and visitors that extra personal service and assistance. Recently the club has undertaken a program of course improvements including the rebuilding of greens and fairways maintaining the club’s reputation as being at the forefront of golfing and bowls.

Craig said, “We pride ourselves as being a friendly and harmonious club and new players are always welcome. Only minutes from Kialla and just over the bridge from Shepparton, I’d like to encourage people of all ages and sexes to call in and see just what we have to offer.”

Drop in to Mooroopna Golf Club at 2 Fairway Drive, Mooroopna or call 5825 4135 to ask about their free courtesy bus Friday and Saturday nights.

HIDDEN IN MOOROOPNA, A GOLFER’S DELIGHT… From left, golfers Bruce Morris from Shepparton and Garry Cooney from Mooroopna enjoy a round of golf at Mooroopna Golf Club. Photo: Alicia Niglia.

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February 2017

COME ALONG AND SEE HOW THE OTHER HALF LIVE… a lifestyle meeting your needs.

Photo: Supplied.

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Discover happier and healthier ways of living at Lifestyle Shepparton Open Day IF you’re looking for a whole new way of living, full of friendships, fun and wellness, Lifestyle Shepparton Open Day will give you all the information and inspiration you need. Open Day attendees can speak to sales consultants, view the beautiful display homes and ask current homeowners all about how the community’s leisure and social activities improve everyone’s wellbeing. As an extra bonus, we’ve invited local health specialists to come along and give you tips on healthy living for over 50s.

Lifest yle Com mu nities’ manag ing director, Mr James Kelly said Lifestyle Sheppartons’ Open Day offers a great opportunity for local people to see how moving into a secure, active and social community can improve their wellbeing. “Homeowners consistently tell us they feel more relaxed, happy and socially connected after moving to

Lifestyle Shepparton,” he said. “Our Open Day offers more people the chance to experience our beautiful community setting, luxurious leisure features and active social scene. Everyone is welcome to come see the lifestyle benefits for themselves.”

Set within beautiful landscaped gardens, Lifestyle Shepparton homeowners enjoy a luxury Clubhouse and Aqua Club with outdoor pool and cabana. Other facilities include a bowling green, tennis court and fishing boat. Lifestyle Shepparton offers a range of activities including bowling, tennis and croquet, walking groups and exercise classes, swimming indoors and out, craft, knitting, line-dancing, 8-ball pool, cards and many other social club activities.

Lifestyle Shepparton Open Day will run from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, February 25.

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February 2017

Affordable retirement village filling up fast IT IS well known that Australia’s ageing population is creating a huge demand for retirement living. Although there is a range of retirement living options available, most of them involve expensive buy-in fees as well as crippling exit fees.

These high fees make it extremely difficult for our pensioners to gain access to a high-quality standard of retirement living. With approximately 77 percent of single people over the age of 65 relying on the pension as their primary source of income, the need for affordable retirement living has never been greater.

Eureka Shepparton Gardens is one of Shepparton’s only rental retirement village operators for over 55s and is filling up fast!

Village managers, Justin and Rebecca Hill have been at Eureka Shepparton Gardens since August 2016 and are amazed at how fast the village is filling.

“Many pensioners cannot afford the huge expenses of standard retirement villages.

Our village offers quality and affordable units for rent with no entry or exit fees. Plus, most of our residents receive

additional rent assistance for that little bit of extra support,” Justin and Rebecca said.

Since taking over Eureka Shepparton Gardens, Justin and Rebecca have focussed on providing tasty home-style meals for residents and organising social activities.

Justin and Rebecca said, “Every day our qualified chef serves meals to residents in our community dining hall which is the social meeting point of the day. We also hold social events regularly which really gets the whole community involved.”

With the village filling up fast, there are limited vacancies available. Get in contact with Justin and Rebecca to organise a tour of the village and a free lunch. Eureka Shepparton Gardens is located at 60 Poplar Avenue, Shepparton. To request a free information pack, phone 5821 7405.

TAKE A TOUR OF EUREKA… Eureka Shepparton Gardens new managers, Justin and Rebecca Hill and their adorable King Charles Cavalier, Roxy, continue to improve Eureka Shepparton Gardens village and invite all interested people to come and have a tour.

Photo: Nicholise Garner.

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P l f l

VICTORIAN SENIORS

GET YOUR LIBRARY FIX… GV Libraries service manager, Jenny Wyllie can help you with a range of exciting things that are available to library members. Photo: Alicia Niglia

Pick up a book or learn a language from your lounge room

By Nicholise Garner ONE of my favourite places to visit these days is the library. I love that I can access not only books, but audio books to listen to while I get mundane jobs done around the house. I love that the network of libraries available through GV Libraries has enabled me to borrow from Shepparton and drop back to Yarrawonga on my way through.

GV Libraries library services manager, Jenny Wyllie said, “GV Libraries have branches all over the Strathbogie, Moira and Shepparton municipalities with the newest library opening in Cobram last November. We are actually a part of a consortium of public libraries called ‘Swift,’ in which we share a library management system and catalogues. This

means that someone at home can put a hold on a book that may come from as far away as Wodonga or Mildura and this system means that effectively there are two and a half million items that members can access.

“GV Libraries offers free e-resources which members can access from anywhere.

These include a variety of e-magazines, e-books, audio books, and computer classes. To access any of these services, along with free internet within the library, book, DVD and audio book borrowing, all that is required is a library card which is completely free and can be applied for online.”

Visit to www.gvlibraries.com.au to find your nearest service.

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VICTORIAN SENIORS

A snapshot of our seniors Estimated Resident Population

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Males 50-54 years

2,087

2,113

2,166

2,196

2,185

Males 55-59 years

1,847

1,927

1,934

1,933

1,953

Males 60-64 years

1,693

1,698

1,712

1,751

1,788

Males 65-69 years

1,337

1,408

1,473

1,569

1,585

Males 70-74 years

1,070

1,096

1,109

1,135

1,201

Males 75-79 years

806

833

828

861

895

Males - 80-84 years

559

579

581

599

591

Males - 85 and over

404

426

443

464

516

Females 50-54 years

2,055

2,034

2 070

2,136

2,158

Females 55-59 years

1,866

1,922

1,941

1,928

1,967

Females 60-64 years

1,653

1,698

1,719

1,752

1,803

Females 65-69 years

1,251

1,308

1,386

1,456

1,519

Females 70-74 years

1,076

1,077

1,033

1,052

1,110

Females 75-79 years

926

924

930

950

926

Females 80-84 years

756

755

728

755

759

Females 85 and over

820

856

856

843

903

+911 more male seniors from 2010 to 2014

+742 more female seniors from 2010 to 2014

February 2017

Most commonly asked questions about aged care AS people live longer, more and more will end up in agedcare. The number of people in permanent aged care in Australia is expected to triple in the next 35 years, from 225,000 today to 700,000 in 2050.

Joseph Palmer & Sons (Vic) aged-care consultants, John Rawling and Rod Horin said, “The aged-care industry is very complicated and many decisions must be made, often involving large sums of money.

“These are the most common questions that we hear, and their answers.”

WILL THE FAMILY GET ALL OF THE RAD BACK? In a government accredited aged-care facility, the accommodation deposit is fully government guaranteed.

Before July 2014, the accommodation bond repaid to the family would be reduced by retention amounts deducted by the aged-care facility. Since July 2014, any lump sum paid as a RAD is now generally repaid in full at the end of the care period.

WHY IS AGED-CARE SO EXPENSIVE? Aged-care is very labour intensive and land and buildings are expensive to buy and maintain. The owners of such facilities expect to make a return on their investment. From a client’s point of view, typical fees include accommodation deposits and charges, daily fees, extra services fees and means-tested fees.

WHY DOES THE GOVERNMENT CHARGE DIFFERENT DAILY CARE FEES TO RESIDENTS? The standard daily care fee for a resident in an aged-care facility ($48.25 per day) is set at 85 percent of the full age pension. All residents must pay this fee. However it does not cover the full care costs of the resident. The government may ask the resident to pay an additional amount as a Meanstested Fee and then pays a subsidy for each resident’s care needs to make up any shortfall.

IS THE ACCOMMODATION DEPOSIT NEGOTIABLE? Yes. Accommodation deposits (known as R A Ds, Refundable Accommodation Deposits) can be as high as $2M to secure a bed in an aged-care facility. In many cases these RADs are negotiable, and at times can be as much as halved.

Willingness to negotiate on RADs depends very much on the demand for beds – and the supply of beds – in a particular aged-care facility.

WHAT ALTERNATIVES ARE THERE FOR PAYING THE RAD? Many aged-care facilities prefer the RAD be paid as a lump sum up front. However it is possible to choose to pay interest payments only or pay with a combination of lump sum and interest payments. A bank guarantee is not an alternative.

WHAT IS THE MEANS-TESTED FEE? The Means-tested Fee is set by the government and collected by the aged-care facility based on an individual assessment for each resident. It is an attempt by the government to ask residents with the financial capacity to contribute to the cost of care. This fee can range from nothing to a maximum $241.92 per day.

WHY IS THE MEANS-TESTED FEE SO HIGH AND HOW DO I REDUCE IT? The Means-tested Fee is based upon the income and assets of the aged-care resident, so it increases as the resident’s assessable assets and income increase. For example, a resident on a part age pension with assets totalling $200,000 and

deemed to be earning $27,713 per year will pay $2.19 per day ($799 per year) in aged care, while a resident with assets totalling $1.2M and deemed to be earning $38,271 per year will pay $68.29 per day ($24,926 per year). One option to reduce the Means-tested Fee is to buy an aged-care annuity, if appropriate – advice is important.

WHAT IS THE EXTRA SERVICES FEE AND SHOULD I PAY IT? The Extra Services Fee, which can be as much as $120 per day, is supposed to give the resident extra services, including more attention and access to people like podiatrists, hairdressers etc. If your aged-care facility is charging an Extra Services Fee, you should ask what services are being delivered and assess whether or not you are receiving value for money.

PAYING DAILY FEES WILL IMPACT ON MY CASH FLOW. WHAT STRATEGIES ARE THERE FOR DEALING WITH THIS? It is possible to negotiate to pay some or all of the daily fees from the RAD to minimise the impact on your cash flow.

This means of course that less of the RAD will be returned at the end of the care period.

WHAT IMPLICATIONS ARE THERE FOR MY SOCIAL SECURITY OR PENSION? The RAD is an excluded asset for social security purposes.

Therefore, in some cases, where existing cash is used to pay for a RAD, it can result in a new or increased pension entitlement. More often, a family home is sold to fund the RAD. In this case, while the home is excluded, the proceeds from its sale are counted as an asset. As a result, the cash remaining after paying the RAD can often result in a pension being reduced or lost entirely. However there are ways to maintain, or even increase, one’s current entitlements.

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VICTORIAN SENIORS

KNOW YOUR PENSION… Changes have just been introduced to age pension entitlements, so ensure you know how the changes will affect you. Photo: Supplied.

Changes to pension could affect

a comfortable retirement 300,000 age pensioners have had at least part of their pension cut, with just under 100,000 of these people losing all age pension entitlements, after the government passed changes to the age pension’s assets test thresholds.

T he age pension provides income supp or t a nd ac c e s s to a ra nge of concessions for eligible older Australians.

Retirees who are currently aged 65 or over, and who satisfy income and assets tests and other requirements, can receive a pension.

The age pension’s assets test thresholds indicate the value of the assets you can own (excluding your home) before the full pension is impacted or potentially cut altogether.

From January 1, 2017, some people will have benefited but more will now be worse off.

According to sources, around 50,000 Australians are expected to be better off under the government’s changes and receive the full pension. Approximately 120,000 part-pensioners are likely to add around $30 per fortnight to their income.

If you own a home, the new assets t h re shold s w i l l a l low you to hold a s s e s s abl e a s s e t s up to $2 50 , 0 0 0 (singles) and $375,000 (couples) without impacting your full-pension entitlements.

The new assets thresholds for those who don’t own a home will be $450,000 (singles) and $575,000 (couples) for the full pension.

People who do lose their pensions in 2017 will be entitled to receive a Commonwealth senior’s health card or potentially a low income health card.

These cards will provide access to the pharmaceutical benefit scheme.

From January 1, 2017, around 91,000 part-pensioners will lose their age pension and about 235,0 0 0 part-pensioners’ payments will be reduced.

Couples who are homeowners will not receive the pension when their assets reach $816,000 in value. Single homeowners will stop receiving the pension when they have more than $542,500 in assets.

S i n g l e s w ho do n’t ow n a hom e won’t qualify for the pension if assets total $742 ,500. And non-homeowner couples will lose pension entitlements after they’ve accumulated more than $1,016,000 in assets.

Depending on how these changes will impact you, there could be a number of things for you to consider, including if your entitlements are reduced, how will you replace lost income? Can you assets be valued down? A financial adviser can help you with asset reducing strategies and the another thing to consider is if you have any large planned expenses, such as a holiday or home repairs, allowable gifting and funeral planning, that might reduce your assets before the changes come in.

For f u r t her i n for m at ion , t a l k to Centrelink or your financial adviser.