Day: May 5, 2022

From time-to-time village managers are faced with situations where a resident may come to them concerned about a reduced income due to the loss of a partner or change in financial situation, concern about rising living costs, inability to navigate the Centrelink allowances and approval processes or their ability to continue to afford living in the village.

Up until now finding the right solution has been tricky. Recently, I caught up with a great new service provider to older Australian that can provide information and assistance when it comes to support with everyday financial management.

Victoria Wallis-Smith, from Nutshell Money, has established a service that will help with every day financial management she calls “money coaching”. 

The perfect storm

Older people face a unique, and growing, set of issues and risks when it comes to managing their money.

The loss of a partner, reduced income, impaired cognition, or simply a reduction in confidence is compounded by the transition to a cashless society. Even the simple act of paying a bill, or filing a financial statement, can be daunting in the online world.

These challenges increase with the threat of financial scams.

The exponential growth in scams in recent years has seen older people a preferred target for increasingly sophisticated scammers. There were over 286,000 scams reported to the ACCC in 2021, with more than $323m of reported losses.

Who to ask?

Often, people turn to a trusted friend or family member with a money question. But what if you don’t have someone like that to ask?

A great online resource is the government’s MoneySmart website. Unfortunately, the wealth of information available can be overwhelming and lead to a paralysis of action, and increased stress.

The usual approach – financial service professionals

Financial planners typically focus on complex investment and tax issues, and the cost of financial planning is increasingly out of reach for many people.

And if the money questions relate to Centrelink rather than a tax query, an accountant may not be the right person to ask.

An alternative option – money coaching

Money coaching is a relatively new concept in Australia but is well entrenched overseas – providing financial education, support and advocacy for a variety of consumer groups.

Whether it’s having someone on hand that understands bank statements, or Centrelink letters, to working through how to make the money stretch – especially in the transition from a couple to a single age pension.

With a focus on personalised support for everyday financial management, Nutshell’s Money Care program is perfectly placed to fill the needs of older Australians.

A Money Care session is offered as a one-off, or as an ongoing support program – in the comfort of a client’s home. And the cost of a session may be covered under a Home Care Package.

If you have a resident that needs a little bit of extra help for a short time or just to get over a hurdle Money coaching could be a great resource. Check out more about Money Coaching here  Nutshell Money or contact Victoria Wallis-Smith on 0405 224 964, or email victoria@nutshellmoney.com.au.

Residents are living longer in their homes in villages due to the introduction and access to extended Home Care services and additional services often offered by villages themselves. 

Village managers are finding themselves more often in a position where they require the skills and information to be able to assist resident with choices when faced with declining health or unexpected health events.

I am often asked “How much should we be helping residents” or “What is our Duty of Care?” in relation to declining health or when there is an unexpected health event.

This is a really difficult questions to answer the obvious answer is of course we should be providing support and information. But it does depend largely on the skills, knowledge, resources and service agreements that are in place and importantly the operators Policy around Duty of care.

What is an operator’s Duty of Care to residents?

DCMI industry partners and specialists in governance and compliance, Critical Success Solutions, states:

 “Duty of Care is the legal responsibility of ​a person or ​organisation ​to avoid any behaviours or omissions that could reasonably be foreseen to cause harm to others”.

In my experience when developing a Duty of Care Policy and guidelines considerations should include: 

Guidelines around examples of incidents or repeated actions that may suggest there is a Duty of Care by the operator to act;

The process to follow when there is imminent danger/harm to the resident, likely danger/harm or preventable danger/harm;

What knowledge or information staff require to have access to, to be able to respond appropriately;

What follow up is needed, and

What documentation is required.

At the Professional Development workshop days this month participants will have the opportunity to hear more from Critical Success Solutions team about the various components and considerations in relation to Duty of Care within a retirement village setting.