Retirement Villages Association Launches KTS and Guidelines to Transit to Care

John Collyns, Executive Director of the Retirement Village Association, provides more detail on the impending guidelines on financial implications of moving into retirement villages. He will be one of the chairs at the upcoming 2nd Annual Aged Care Symposium on Wednesday 4 March 2020.

 

From 1 April 2020 two new sets of guidelines will help prospective residents of retirement villages and their families be clear about the financial implications of moving into a village, and transferring between independent living and care facilities on the same site.

The Retirement Villages Association (RVA) has liaised with the Commission for Financial Capability (CFFC) in drawing up a Key Terms Summary. This clarifies the cost of moving into and living in a village, whether there is any share of capital gain or risk of capital loss, and when the resident’s capital will be repaid after vacating the unit.

In addition, the RVA developed a set of Guidelines for Transfer to Care for operators to go through with prospective residents before they sign a village contract. The checklist covers whether a village includes a care facility on site, the rights of the resident to enter the care facility if need be, the assessment process required before entry, and the costs associated with living there.

The CFFC, which monitors the retirement village industry, found in its annual Monitoring Report last year that disclosure could be improved, particularly in relation to a resident’s ability to move to a care facility.

The RVA has added the Key Terms Summary and the Guidelines for the Transition to Care to the Standards of the Association, thereby raising the bar for members. Both are now a mandatory condition of membership, and will be part of each member’s three year compliance audit. Failure to use either the KTS or the disclosure Guidelines where a member offers the opportunity to transfer to care will mean a failed audit.

We are pleased to have involved the CFFC in this work and look forward to working with the new Commissioner and her staff in the future.

More than 70% of villages now have care facilities on site, and more than 50% of New Zealand’s care beds are on retirement villages sites. However, the independent living part of a village and its care facility operate under different regulatory regimes and different cost structures.

Independent living is regulated by the Retirement Villages Act and monitored by the Retirement Commissioner (CFFC);  care facilities are monitored by the local DHB and the Health & Disability Commissioner.

Troy Churton, National Manager – Retirement Villages with the CFFC, is pleased there would now be better disclosure for prospective residents and their families to help them make the decision about moving into a retirement village, and if so, which village best met their needs.

“This is a life-changing decision, often made at a stressful time. These guidelines will help consumers be clear about the implications, both financial and regarding the process of moving into greater care if they need to in the future,” Troy said.

John Collyns was appointed Executive Director of the Retirement Villages Association (NZ) Inc (RVA) in October 2007. John is responsible for setting the Association’s strategy and policy direction, as well as developing relationships with members, key stakeholders, central and local government agencies, and the media. Prior to this appointment John was the Executive Director of the Bus and Coach Association (NZ) Incorporated, a position he had held since September 1994. John was a founding director of the Road Transport and Logistics Industry Training Organisation and he is a Fellow of the Australasian Society of Association Executives. Connect with John via LinkedIn