RECEPTION

Australians are living longer than ever before, so once you hit retirement age, it’s still important to think long-term. Planning for your senior years entails considering your entire lifestyle, including everything from finances to your social life.

Financial Planning – Planning for a long life means you need to ensure you are financially stable. You can never be too young to start financial planning, and keeping on top of investments and living costs into your senior years is vital.

Health and Fitness – There’s no doubt that a healthy lifestyle may help you stay fit and healthy well into your senior years. Regular exercise need not entail vigorous activity. Take a daily walk, join a golf or bowls club and do keep a track of what you eat. Your body may thank you!

Social Activities – Maintaining a social lifestyle may have all sorts of benefits in keeping you feeling young, and certainly young-at-heart. It can be difficult sometimes to schedule regular time with busy family members, but do persevere. It’s worth also keeping social networks alive. If you don’t have a large social group, why not start now. Join an interest group with like-minded people. Whether it’s knitting, tennis or a book club, it’s a great way to get out and make the most of your community.

Accommodation Options – It’s obviously worth looking at your accommodation options long-term. Many seniors do decide to make the move at some stage and relocate to a retirement village or an aged care home if higher levels of care are needed. There may be waiting lists for aged care and assisted living, so there’s no better time to start looking at your options than right now.

There are a wide range of retirement villages and aged care communities around, and there are a few supported living communities, like Fairways Supported Living. You might start by looking locally. Always take the time to investigate accommodation, facilities, care levels, costs and ongoing fees so that you have a clear picture of what’s on offer, and can decide on the most suitable option for your needs.