The Fair Deal scheme was brought into law on 1 July 2009, Money Doctors' John Lowe explains what it entails
As a society, we are all getting older, living longer, leading healthier lives. While there are over 700,000 citizens over the age of 66 currently in Ireland, by 2050, there will be 1.8million - and it costs to take care of them. John Lowe of MoneyDoctors.ie looks at the ins and outs of nursing home care.
Currently, there are a number of considerations when it comes to paying for potential nursing care :
1. You have your own mortgage-free home, a pension, the State pension and you may be even in the healthy financial position of being able to pay for your own in-house nursing care without state aid when or if you do become incapacitated.
2. You do not own your own home and live just on the state pension (€262.30 per week) but you have children who look after you physically and financially outside of your state pension.
3. You will need nursing home care for a variety of reasons and you now realise staying in your mortgage-free home is not practical. What are the options if you cannot afford live-in expensive home help or do not wish to take out a "life-loan" or residential reversion loan 1?
- Sell the home and simply pay a nursing home an average €1,325 per week (the rate for average nursing home care in Co. Dublin) until your money runs out. On an average home worth €400,000, that will last roughly 25 years.
- Take up the HSE’s Fair Deal scheme - it’s not all that complicated.
The Fair Deal scheme
The Fair Deal scheme, brought into law on 1 July 2009 and introduced on 27 October that year under the Fair Deal Act or Nursing Home Support Act, provides financial support to people who need long-term nursing home care.
The first step is an application for a Care Needs Assessment - this identifies whether or not you need long-term nursing home care, i.e. whether you can be supported to continue living at home or whether long-term nursing home care is more appropriate.
John Lowe of Money Doctors joined Eoin Beatty on Thursday's Kildare Today, where he explained the Fair Deal Scheme:
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