As a person ages they may choose to look at alternative accommodation arrangements to living in his/her own home. One option may be to consider a retirement village and another may be a granny flat arrangement.

When a client is deciding where they want to live and what sort of care they need, make sure they know the difference between a retirement village and what is called “residential aged care”.

Retirement villages are an independent living option. The person buys the right to live in a retirement village under various types of contracts but the government does not help with any of the costs.

This is different to aged care where the person receives full care and the fees are regulated by government, with the government paying some of these fees.

What is a retirement village?
A retirement village is effectively a community of older people who are living independently (or with limited services). The type of accommodation may vary and could be a unit, a villa or a house. In most cases the person does not own their residence. Usually they will enter into a lease/loan type arrangement.

Many villages only offer self–care units for people who can look after themselves. Some villages also offer serviced units, where residents maybe provided with meals, house–cleaning, laundry and some personal care.

Some complexes include both retirement villages and aged care facilities.