The decision to change career path in order to spend time with parents can be daunting – and part of the challenge is always financial. While the “problems” are often very obvious, the “opportunities” are usually hidden. Click here if you would like help in overcoming the challenges.
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Medical Services Plan – Financial Assistance
0 Comments | Posted by EldercareBC-R in Financial Planning
Did you know that lower income families and individuals can get assistance with paying for their BC Medical Services Plan (MSP)? Yes, you can, if you apply. And it’s one more instance where the level of refund or assistance you receive will depend on your taxable income – click here to find out more.
Older BC residents really do get a great number of financial breaks – and nearly all of them are dependant on Taxable Income and therefore on how investment income is taxed. To find out more and to see if you are paying too much tax and receiving too little assistance, click here.
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Depression common in seniors’ facilities
0 Comments | Posted by EldercareBC-R in Assisted Living, Financial Planning, Residential Care
A startling 44 per cent of the quarter-million seniors living in residential-care facilities are suffering from clinical depression, a new study shows. Researchers found that 26 per cent of residents of nursing homes, personal care homes and long-term care facilities have been diagnosed with depression and another 18 per cent have clear symptoms but no documented diagnosis of depression.
For those with elderly parents, it’s yet another cause for concern – click here for the full details.
One of the alternative solutions could be private care or care at home. This often raises the BIG question – “Can we afford it?.” Click here if you’d like us to help find an answer.
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Mamma Mia – Is Mother Moving into Your Home?
0 Comments | Posted by EldercareBC-R in Financial Planning
It is a tough time no matter what the circumstances when an elderly relative, perhaps a parent, is no longer able to live independently in their own home.
One option may be for your parent to move into your family home. If parents, kids and grandparents can all live together, then there are a number of financial, tax and estate issues to consider. To find out more, Click Here.
The article makes a few valid observations regarding the financial consequences of having parents stay at home. However, it does not touch on the difficulties of getting a parent into the Provincial Assisted Living Program, nor does it cover the costs of the program and the way that the costs destroy investment income, monthly cash flow and future inheritences. To find out more, click here.
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Working AND Caring for the Elderly
0 Comments | Posted by EldercareBC-R in Financial Planning
It is a fact of modern life that many of us dedicate ourselves to helping our parents in their time of need. And it’s also clear that this has an impact on our career, our work and our social time. The worst potential outcome would be for our caregiving to have a negative impact at work, and/or at home, and/or with our family relationships. Click here to find out more.
There can also be a significant financial consequence to the decision to become a caregiver. If you would like us to assess the impact for you, please click here.
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Grandparent Scam – Beware of this Fraud!
0 Comments | Posted by EldercareBC-R in Financial Planning
BBB has recently received reports about grandparents in areas across British Columbia, including Chilliwack and Surrey, who thought they were aiding their grandchildren by providing money for an emergency situation but were in fact giving thousands of dollars to con artists. The CBC has also reported on this tragedy – Click here for the best article we could find on this topic.
Scams and fraud are a shocking way to lose money. At ElderCareBC we’re often amazed by how people are quite happy to “lose their money to the government” by failing to maximise their subsidies and minimise their taxes. Click here to arrange a time to review your situation and make sure you aren’t setting yourself up for a shock!
We know that growing old can be tough. Being thrust into the world of caretaker can be an emotional burden. Overwhelming even. Maybe even financially draining.
Please take a 5 minute break and be ready to have your batteries recharged – Just Click Here. It never fails to raise a smile and bring instant “sunshine”.
Turning to others for help, and making positive choices, can be a powerful way to get your smile back. If you’d like us to try to take some of the financial stress out of your parent’s transition, just click here.
During our research of areas that might be useful to others who have parents in need, we came across a new innovation from the Canadian Diabetes Association. Education is key when it comes to diabetes. With more than 3 million Canadians living with diabetes and a further 6 million with prediabetes, the Canadian Diabetes Association is committed to providing the necessary resources for individuals to make informed decisions about their health. Click Here to go to the new online resource called the Healthy Living Series.
Financial matters can sometimes feel a bit like doing research for our parents – we stumble around and aren’t sure if we’ve made the right decisions. That’s where we come in – for a consultation to make sure that you’re decisions are not costing the family more than they could, click here.
Every time you visit your parents, you notice that they are having more and more difficulty keeping the house clean. They seem to be losing weight, and when you look in the refrigerator, you can see why. Clearly their nutritional needs are not being met. You suggest they bring in private help a few days a week to help with the shopping, cooking and cleaning, but they will not even consider it. If this sounds familiar, click here for some valuable insights.
Sometimes the solutions to this type of situation have financial consequences! That’s where ElderCareBC comes in – click here to find out if we can help.
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Have you Heard of the Hardship Waiver?
0 Comments | Posted by EldercareBC-R in Assisted Living, Financial Planning, Residential Care
We’ve had a few clients ask about the new Hardship Waiver so we made a few calls to unravel the details around this new initiative. The program comes into effect from July 1st and is designed to ensure that older citizens in a care home always have cash on a monthly basis – i.e. that the 70% of after tax income that they pay for Assisted Living (or 80% for Residential Care) does not exceed their monthly income.
All those who have been at an Assisted Living or Residential Care home for any period of time would have received instructions as to how the application process works. For newer residents, or those who missed the letter, it’s possible that they have slipped through the proverbial cracks. I contacted the Ministry of Health in Victoria and they were very helpful – if the following information doesn’t get you the specific answers you need, they recommend that you call them directly on 1 800 465-4911 and they will assist.
Their recommendation is that you need to find the local case worker in charge of the finances for Assisted Living cases. Try calling your Health Authority and asking for the Billing Area. Once they put you through, ask for the person who deals with Assisted Living as you have a question regarding the Hardship Waiver. That should get you to the person who can walk you through the process.
If you have questions regarding the government subsidies, and how much of your investment income is swallowed up by them, then click here.
