The cost of aged care will grow hugely in the coming decade. Older Australians, who have the means to pay more for their own care, should do so.
, makes eminently sensible proposals for changes to cover the ever-growing cost of aged care. But since its solution is to require the well-off elderly to bear more of the cost, I doubt if Aged Care Minister Anika Wells will be able to implement the changes without much pushback from those well-off elderly – otherwise known as the “wealthy Boomers”.The cost of aged care – both residential care and, increasingly, at-home care – is expected to grow hugely in the coming decade for three reasons.
The federal government’s spending on aged care last financial year totalled $27 billion. It’s expected to have reached $42 billion by 2026-27. And there’s a lot more to go after that. So the taskforce has come up with a solution that previous governments have, for decades, not been game to propose: ask the well-off elderly to pay a higher proportion of the daily living expenses – meals, laundry and cleaning – and accommodation costs.At present, those in residential care who can afford it are required to pay a “refundable accommodation deposit” of many thousands, which is refunded when they leave or die.
Unlike me, many Baby Boomers vociferously object to being held responsible for the unfair way the younger generations are treated by the tax system, the superannuation system, the university fees system and the gig-economy system. The super system is wildly biased in favour of the well-off. And the people who try to tell you that having super and other savings sufficient to eliminate their eligibility for the age pension makes them a “self-funded retiree” are deluded.