Living in a Retirement Village may not be everyone’s cup of tea! But it can be a wonderful opportunity to enjoy a secure and happy retirement, and if you do your homework an affordable retirement is within reach. Proper retirement living financial planning is essential, to ensure you secure your comfort and happiness for your golden years.
Choosing An Affordable Retirement Village
One thing you will learn early on is that not all Retirement Villages are the same, they can offer different services for people with different wants and needs. So if you’ve decided on retirement living, be sure you choose the right village for you and your lifestyle.
In the meantime, if you’re active and want to enjoy the social aspect of village living, be sure that what’s on offer lives up to your expectations. There is no point choosing a Retirement Village that can’t accommodate your hobbies or lifestyle pursuits, because you’ll just be paying to do this outside of the village. The key to affordable retirement living is finding a village that can meet your lifestyle needs, as you’ll get more value from your investment.
Seeking Financial Advice
Now that you’ve found a village that suits how you want to live, take a look to see if the type of purchase suits your financial position. Retirement Villages are operated under strict government legislations; however St Ives Retirement Living strongly recommends you always seek independent financial and legal advice from someone familiar with all the associated legislations before signing anything.
You don’t need to pay the full cost of your retirement village upfront. Many, including St Ives Retirement Living, offer a Deferred Management Fee (DMF) payment model, which is an attractive option for many looking to downsize to a retirement village. This model means you pay part of the fee after you leave the village and your retirement home is sold. Depending on how long you have lived in the Retirement Village, this fee is calculated as a percentage of the sales price, less the cost of refurbishing and selling your home. Again, these are all important considerations and will vary from village to village, so be prepared to ask questions! You will find a helpful explanation of the DMF payment on our FAQs page.
In addition to the entry and departure costs, you’ll also pay a monthly ‘common services’ fee, which helps cover a great range of lifestyle amenities (like pools, gyms and Clubhouses) and the running costs of the Village. This fee does not include your own general living expenses, such as telephone, internet, electricity and contents insurance, but equates generally to the amount that you already probably pay in rates, general upkeep and lifestyle costs.
In the end, the financial cost is just one consideration that will affect your choice of Retirement Village, albeit a very important one. You also need to compare the lifestyle you have now, with the one you will be enjoying in your Retirement Village, for instance, there will be things you do now and pay for, that may be included as part of your village lifestyle. Ask yourself, is village life right for you? So don’t just think of the ‘cost’ of a retirement home, think about the ‘value’, particularly those things you can’t put a dollar value on, like the comfort and security of living amongst like-minded people who are looking out for you, and the social connection and easy access to events and activities, and more time to enjoy them!
All of these things add up to physical and mental wellbeing, and you can’t put a price on that, find out more about this and our Live Happy strategy!
You can also talk to fellow residents to find out what they think. After all, a village (and its community) that is completely transparent will help you make a more informed and confident decision about your future.
Book a tour at St Ives Retirement Living, and find out why our residents are glad they made the move!