But if, for instance, everyone considering a contract and trying to project their future financial security could easily anticipate and clearly understand how their fortunes might change and evolve over time, depending on a number of possible scenarios, this might reduce the number of people making poor decisions.
I’m pretty confident about my knowledge of a lot of topics relating to ‘ageing’, having written about it for over a dozen years. However, unlike my fellow blogger, Frank, I’m no expert on life in retirement villages. I’ve been to a few over the years in a professional capacity (as a journalist in my previous editor role) as well as a couple for social reasons, visiting a family member and a friend of the family. But that’s it.
You might think that puts me at a disadvantage when writing about issues affecting retirees and village residents but I think it is a good thing. Not being comfortable and familiar and part of the fabric of retirement village culture means that I probably see things from a slightly different and more objective perspective. For now at least.
So I am observing and learning more every week and am very grateful to the many readers who have sent ideas, contributions and comments.
The ‘love to hate’ thing
One observation that’s pretty hard to miss is the almost institutionalised friction that seems to prevail in the relationship between village operators and residents. Maybe I am wrong (and if so, I hope to be corrected), but my impression is that residents almost see it as their duty to assume, sometimes in the politest of terms, that operators are out to fleece them of their hard earned life savings and condemn them (and their families) to eternal penury.
I can’t say I’ve witnessed the expression of any such deliberate intent on the part of any operator I’ve come across at the odd conference. Yes, village operators ARE operating a business and do expect to be profitable, even if – in the case of not for profit operators – that ‘surplus’ goes back into funding other charitable works. And you hope – and assume – that profits are earned fairly and justly.
…operators go to this effort for sales and promotional purposes so it isn’t a big leap to think that the same approach could be applied to a consumer education and protection strategy.
This issue was forefront in my mind when I read my colleague Frank’s opinion piece this week about the number of retirement village residents who felt financially vulnerable right from the day they joined their village.
Frank and Earnest don’t always agree on things, but this piece by Frank did strike a chord. It reminded me of a conversation I had recently with a village resident committee member. She said it was relatively common to find people who, for various reasons, don’t quite get around to doing their ‘due diligence’ on the village contract or leave it to the last moment, make decisions under pressure, and later feel they have made a mistake.
Better communication
One of the issues we discussed in this context is the level of complexity of most village contracts and the need for better, clearer communication about what new village residents might expect over time.
OK, there are no guarantees and humans are humans after all, with all their faults and frailties. But if, for instance, everyone considering a contract and trying to project their future financial security could easily anticipate and clearly understand how their fortunes might change and evolve over time, depending on a number of possible scenarios, this might reduce the number of people making poor decisions. Or it might prompt people to explore other measures to better defray future liabilities.
Maybe some operators already do this. Like I said, I am relatively new to this.
What might that look like?
Perhaps an eight to ten minute video, clearly promoted on the operator’s website and shown to all prospective buyers, explaining in simple and accessible terms, the different costs and the way they are calculated and applied in the context of future myriad scenarios that might develop. A no holds barred, tell-it-like-it-is explanation that nobody could misunderstand.
And printed material in the same vein would need to be provided, along with training of staff to ensure that the key messages are clearly understood and conveyed.
Maybe some operators already do this. Like I said, I am relatively new to this.
In any case, operators go to this effort for sales and promotional purposes so it isn’t a big leap to think that the same approach could be applied to a consumer education and protection strategy.
Residents taking action
Perhaps there are other approaches and ideas. Perhaps state-based residents associations could apply for community grants to fund a project along these lines.
There are several sources of grants for community-based projects, both state based and national. Lotteries funds are one source (eg https://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/books/inc-guide-incorporated-associations-western-australia/lotterywest-grants) but, thinking laterally, university media courses and film schools are often looking for real-life projects to take on.
Corporate organisations with an interest in financial security of older people might also be open to suggestions. Maybe finances could be pooled under the auspices of the national ARVRA body to take a more universal approach.
I’m wondering out loud here but I can’t help thinking that the prevailing friction between operators and residents might be resolved – or at least much closer to being resolved – with a clearer, more transparent approach to communication on all sides.
Operators almost certainly need to step up their efforts toward providing better, clearer consumer information to prospective residents. At the same time, though, residents and prospective residents need to take responsibility for their personal financial decisions. If the village option doesn’t feel right, don’t take it. And if you do take it, do so in full understanding of the potential implications.
Discussion2 Comments
Dear Earnest,
To me entering a retirement village is much like a marriage: each partner has beforehand viewed their chosen love through the inevitable rose-coloured spectacles based on what they have seen or imagined to be true.
Does advice, particularly given to some elderly people, assist? Not always I’m afraid, particularly when related to what is seen by experts to be needed: clear definition under RV legislation of each parties’ rights and expectations when living in a community. The majority of lawyers and accountants do not have a clue about this aspect from my observation of the history of retirement villages.
The bottom line is that only after experiencing the real life behaviour of the other party on a day-to-day basis does either first-love fade with the consequent reality of major problems setting in, or “they all live happily ever after”.
Yes, operators certainly have to contend with difficult residents and even committees which are adamant on keeping residents’ rights preserved under law. They often deal with matters like this using the old “divide and conquer” method: woo over some residents and set them against the “troublemakers”. Split the ranks and they can then sit back and see what happens. I would doubt there would be a village in Australia who has not experienced that in some form or other. Maybe some readers will write in with a contrary position to that? I would be happily encouraged to learn that that sort of behaviour only happens in just the few villages I know of.
There are some residents whose health or mental prowess sadly and often quickly deteriorates creating the need for extra assistance and support by management. Deteriorating health is inevitable associated with ageing process – allowances and real support systems should be established by every operator … they know what they are dealing with before they started their business don’t they?
Then there’s the other side … the vice versa: village management is often proven to be deficient and/or mishandles residents’ funds – largely due of lack of training or having the right degree of empathy to the elderly resident; consequently they do not live up to expectation of residents, who like it or not, gossip and pass the word – often distorted by the time the facts have turned into rumours.
As I said, it’s all just like in a marriage which brings two parties to have to live close together … the outcome cannot really be foreseen until after the “sleeping-together” has begun.
So how do we collectively fix it? As a starter is it possible that you, Earnest, with good old Frank, could seek a “from-the-horse’s-mouth” perspective to guide your way forward in your new excellent website forum by holding a limited discussion between say 20 representatives coming from a cross-section of villages (they could be local Sydney and outer suburbs for a start), offering different viewpoints on a set agenda? Just a thought.
Good suggestion about the forum, Neil. We are trying to encourage as many people as possible to share their views and email or call with ideas. We have discussed holding forums and we will do that in time – hopefully before very long. The only limitation has been (and, alas, continues to be for now) time and various other commitments that we’ve had to deal with. There is also the issue of trying to ensure that we hear from, as you say, a broad cross section of people. Ideally we’d like to hear from those in every state and territory, from urban/regional areas, in ‘corporate’ villages, in ‘independents’, in not-for-profit run villages, in big, small, old, new etc. As in other spheres of life, the voices of a loud few can sometimes make it hard to hear some of the other voices. So it would be good to ensure all voices get to be heard.
Your analogy about marriage is an interesting one and it holds to a great extent. Marriages all too frequently don’t turn out the way people hoped and it can be financially and emotionally devastating getting out of the contract! It’s why ‘intendeds’ really should not take marriage lightly!
I started writing a long response to your comments here, exploring that analogy and decided it was best for me to write it in a post, rather than in the comments. So stay tuned.