There are numerous options available to fund your Accommodation Payment in Aged Care, & for some people, thinking outside the square can deliver impressive savings. Because the Accommodation Payment is based around a Lump Sum version called a RAD, most people think they will need to sell the home or use all their savings to […]

A Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD) means you are paying for your Accommodation in Aged Care as a Lump sum. It is Government Guaranteed (so it is very safe) & fully Refundable. Whereas paying for the Accommodation as a DAP (Daily Accommodation Payment) means that you will be charged interest at a Government prescribed rate instead […]

The Government has announced the following increases to Age Pensions, Disability Pension & the same applies to Service Pensions for DVA The maximum rate of Age, Disability & Service pension (DVA) per fortnight   Basic rate Plus + Supplements Total pension Single $814.00pf $66.30 +$14.10 $894.40pf Couple $613.60 $50.00 +$10.60 $674.20pf each $1348.40pf combined Illness […]

The Government has announced the indexation to the Aged Care Fees for September, only the Basic Daily Care Fee changes affect existing residents. Post July 2014 Residents, Basic Daily Care Fee (BDCF) $49.42/day Annual Limit of Means Tested Fee $26,566.54pa Lifetime limit of Means Tested Fee $63,759.75   Pre July 2014 Residents Basic Daily Care […]

Due to a fire in the Telstra exhange at Parklea, our phone lines are not working to their full capacity. If you are having trouble getting through to us, we apologise. Please call on (02) 8814-7385 or email us at info@thebalancegroup.com.au if you are unable to reach us and we will respond to you as […]

The Government has announced the indexation to the Aged Care Fees for March, only the Basic Daily Care Fee changes affect existing residents. Post July 2014 Residents, Basic Daily Care Fee (BDCF) $49.07/day Annual Limit of Means Tested Fee $26,380.51pa Lifetime limit of Means Tested Fee $63,313.28   Pre July 2014 Residents Basic Daily Care […]

The Government has announced the following increases to Age Pensions, Disability Pension & the same applies to Service Pensions for DVA The maximum rate of Age, Disability & Service pension (DVA) per fortnight

If you were one of the unlucky ones, whose pension dropped or stopped as a consequence of the changes to the assets test taper changes that came into effect on the 1st January 2017, & if you happen to be in an Aged Care facility, then there is a strong chance that your cash flow (ie […]

All retirees have been feeling the pinch of historically low interest rates, since the GFC, only to be compounded by changes to the Age Pension criteria, brought in by successive Governments, over the last 2 years, which have seen Age Pension entitlements also fall. There have been at least 4 changes in the last 2 […]

If your mother or father is moving into aged care, & wants to keep their home, then they better get in quick before the rules change in January 2017. Currently it is quite possible to move into an aged care facility, keep your home, rent it out & retain your Age Pension (in fact your […]