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Home Sweet Home
Read more: Home Sweet HomeIt is the great Australian dream to own your own home. But how does your home affect your age pension or the aged care fees you can be asked to pay? Eligibility for an age pension and liability to pay aged care fees, are both impacted by your assets and income. This includes an assessment of where you live and your ownership status. The Centrelink (or Veterans’ Affairs) assets test starts by identifying you as either a homeowner or a non-homeowner. A higher threshold applies to non-homeowners but homeowners receive an exemption for the home. At first glance it may…
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Supporting a person living with dementia
Read more: Supporting a person living with dementiaLiving with dementia can be unsettling and frustrating, but independence and quality of life can still be achieved with the right support and a few changes. With almost half a million people living with dementia in Australia, and another 1.6 million people involved in their care, it is likely that we are all impacted in some way. This week is Dementia Action week, putting a spotlight on how to support a person living with dementia as well as support for the carers. Understanding the experience of dementia, and making a few changes can have a beneficial impact on the person’s…
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Too Wealthy for Home Care Subsidies?
Read more: Too Wealthy for Home Care Subsidies?Did you think you would not qualify for the government subsidies on home care? Take another look – you might be surprised. The cost of full-time private care provided in your own home may look daunting. But financial advice along with a government-subsidised home care package and support from friends and family, might make home care achievable and affordable. Each home care package comes with an assigned budget that you can choose how to spend on care services (after administration costs). Part of this budget is paid by the government and part is paid by the recipient. But are you…
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Decision Making Using a Power of Attorney
Read more: Decision Making Using a Power of AttorneyThe time may come when you need to make financial decisions on behalf of a parent as the Enduring Power of Attorney (EPoA). Is this an honour or a burden? It can be both, so the person taking on the role needs to understand both the legal obligations as well as family responsibilities. Making decisions using an EPoA A power of attorney is given the authority to make decisions and authorise transactions in relation to property and financial affairs. If it is an enduring power, this authority remains effective even after the donor has lost mental capacity – most important…
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Purpose Over Details
Read more: Purpose Over DetailsIt was a Wednesday morning, and the coffee and biscuits were all laid out. The room was filled with about twenty over fifties. It was a retirement information session put on by a local council for their employees. After accepting the invitation a few weeks earlier, we were speaking third. The topic was obviously retirement, but the question was: what should we speak about? As we waited to present, the rep from the superfund went through the stuff you’d expect to hear from a superfund. They touched on the income test and assets test, making reference to the fact we’d…
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