Retirement Village Setup Checklist

Moving into a retirement village is an exciting step, offering community and convenience.

Making the right choices upfront ensures this next stage is one of ease and enjoyment. But there’s also a future, more vulnerable version of you to consider—one that’s often overlooked.

This guide helps you plan for both, with simple steps to keep things in check so you can relax and enjoy village life.

Understanding your contract is key to a smooth, secure transition. Staying on top of the details ensures you have a clear plan for the future.

From the initial contract review to annual check-ins, this guide will help you stay in control.

Your challenge? Get all the information upfront—and set aside time each year to keep things on track.

When Starting Your Search for a Retirement Village

• Make sure you have a complete list of available villages.
  This should include villages that are advertising, villages with waiting lists (join these as soon as possible), and villages that are under construction. It's hard to compile a full list, but it's worth the effort.

• Check the village on the NSW Retirement Village Register.
  This register has a whole lot of information the Retirement Villages must provide by law and contains valuable information about complaints, resident demographics, and average time to sell. For some areas of NSW we have extracted the information to allow our clients to more easily search for specific types of Retirement Village Units - like assisted living, single story, and whether aged care beds are on-site.

• Consider your eligibility for the Age Pension and how changes in your housing may impact this.
  For example, if you sell your home and buy a retirement village unit for less, how will this affect your Age Pension? Knowing your future income is an essential part of planning.

• While you are looking at Retirement Villages - start thinking about aged care options.
  Is aged care co-located with your retirement village? Are aged care options nearby? How much would it cost? 60% of Retirement Village Residents will need to move to an aged care bed. Nobody ever wants to talk about this - this is fact! We reckon you could think about it, understand it, know you have it covered, then file it in a draw for your kids to find if the time time comes. Then go and have fun.

• Review and plan your superannuation contribution options.
  A downsizer contribution may be possible from the sale of your home, and there may be opportunities to contribute based on your age - you have until age 75 (and 28 days). There is a good chance you can setup a bunch of money from your home as tax-free for the rest of your life. Don’t miss this.

When Visiting Retirement Villages

• Request a "Disclosure Statement" as early as possible.
  By law, this must be provided within 14 days, but ideally, you can obtain it upfront. Consider it a red flag if you are asked for a deposit before receiving this or encounter resistance. Don't accept a "General Inquiry Document" or brochures - insist on getting the "Disclosure Statement" - it's the document in a format directed by NSW Fair Trading that outlines the correct information to help you work out how much this is going to cost. A lot of work has gone into making this information available to you up-front - do it.

• Ask for detailed information about care options and what the contract will say about termination due to care needs.
  This conversation should happen at the same time as financial disclosure. This is unlikely to be your "last move", as much as marketing may say it. It’s uncomfortable but it doesn’t have to be an “unknown”. Future you will thank you for being thorough.

• Ask about home care services and other medical and practical support available. This is the day-to-day stuff of retirement villages.

• Assess aged care options. About 60% of retirement village residents will eventually move into aged care, so it's essential to recognise that for most people, a retirement village is not their last move. Look at our map for aged care options near the village you are looking at. 20 years in the biz says NOBODY wants to talk about aged care, until that time comes where they want to know everything. Allocate some space to this.

• Inquire about the cost of refurbishing units similar to the one you are considering. It’s not an unreasonable question and will give you a sense of what could happen on exit. Some places take this on at their expense, some at yours. Start working on the numbers.

When Assessing Your Contract

Speak to the team at Later Life Advice and a solicitor with expertise in retirement village contracts to review all documents.

When Reviewing the Financial Aspects of Your Contract

• Ensure you understand the financial mechanics of your contract. The Average Resident Comparison Figure, set up by the NSW Office of State Revenue is included in your contract - however it is confusing and limited in its usefulness. You may not be average, and this is why you will want clarity on how your contract works before signing it, and will need to check in on it to rest easy in retirement.

• Review exit scenarios at different timeframes. Retirement contracts can work in mysterious ways, with varying outcomes based on what happens with you - a bit of help will enable you to understand how this could work. Get help to cover all the “what-ifs”

• Compare expected exit amounts with potential aged care pathways based on nearby aged care options.
  Let me re-phrase this - what happens if you need aged care? Where is it going to be? What will it cost? And if you enter the village as a couple - what if one needs care and the other stay put - how will that look?

• Forecast Centrelink eligibility and compare this against ongoing retirement village costs. Yes - the question of cashflow - have you got it covered? The best retirement feels unrestricted. A daily mission to scrimp and save just in case may be converted to a daily mission to enjoy retirement with comfort that you have the future under control.

• If there are choices in how you pay your contract (e.g AVEO and Keyton) - seek independent advice regarding which contract suits you. There is more and more flexibility in how you pay for your village - get expert help to make sure you are making the right choice. Some pricing appears counter-intuitive, however a closer look may surprise you. We can help.

When Moving In

• Understand your cooling-off period and settling-in entitlements under law.

• Make any downsizer contributions on time (yes there is a time limit after settlement - don’t miss this!)

• Review your personal super contribution strategy. You may be surprised how much you can funnel into super before your 75th (+28 days) birthday.

• Schedule a contract review for the anniversary of your move-in date. More about this below. Did you know about half of current Retirement Village Residents live in confusion about their contracts? Many residents worry about what is going to happen when it comes time to leave. This doesn’t have to be the case. Don’t expect to remember how your contract works after the whirlwind of moving in and getting on with your new life. Do the work then, and plan to do a bit more work in future. More about this below.

• Update Centrelink on your new financial position to check for entitlements, including the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. If you haven’t got the hang of MyGov and how it links to Centrelink (for age pension and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card), Medicare, MyAgedCare the Australian Tax Office, My Health Record and all the rest - now may be the time to get savvy. Once a year we can help by logging in to all of this and seeing agencies up to date (Centrelink), tax up to date and all the rest. Get it done and feel good!

• Ensure easy access to superannuation and cash if needed. You may have put a chunk into super - make sure you have switched to pension, got the money flowing in a way that suits you, check in on a few forecasts and performance once a year, and expect to see it on your phone - your super and your cash and other investments. Make sure your points of contact for getting things done are good.

• Have fun. The common refrain from Retirement village residents is that they “wish they’d done this sooner!". At the same time as a wonderful village life, concern for what happens next can creep in. Read on.

On the Anniversary of Moving In

• Request an "annual contract check-in", either personally or through a nominated representative.
  This is an important right, and NSW Fair Trading provides a format to Retirement Village Operators to ensure they meet their obligations under legislation. We can do this on your behalf as a no-nonsense and practical way of annually reviewing your situation, covering off on the awkward “what ifs?”, and once this is done, put it in a file and throw it in a draw.

• Review the results of the contract check-in to see if they are they in line with what you expected?

• Assess whether your aged care plans still make sense based on your contract update. No-one likes doing this. Just an hour or two, then you are done. This is the time you put aside to making things better for the future, more vulnerable version of yourself.

• Store your contract check-in and aged care plans in a safe place, and don't stress about them until next year. This is important information to have on hand in case your children or trusted representatives need to advocate and organise for you if your circumstances change.

• Ensure MyGov is linked to Centrelink and the ATO to keep your asset and income records up to date.
  This will help ensure maximum pension entitlements if applicable, and enable simple tax returns (or non-returns) to be completed.

• Make a diary entry to do the same next year - keeping up to date with your contract, and local aged care costs will ensure you can enjoy your retirement knowing you have conquered contract complexity and have aged care needs under control!

You'll gain peace of mind and confidence in your retirement village journey by diligently addressing these aspects. Remember, proactive planning is key. Don't wait until a crisis arises; take charge today.

If all of this seems too complex, we've had over 20 years of experience helping retirees like you, so contact us today.