ipac is piloting financial advice models for clients requiring aged care services in hospitals, nursing homes or personal residences.

“We’re looking at our existing client base and there’s a large market opportunity for people entering the aged care system,” Margot Palk, ipac head of marketing, said. For many aged care clients, who are typically aged 75 years or more, entering such arrangements was usually their last consequential financial decision. “And it’s a big decision [that could involve] selling a house and putting $300,000-400,000 into an accommodation bond,” Palk said. The pilot began earlier this year and currently involved five ipac financial planners working in New South Wales and Victoria, who charge clients a flat fee, Palk said. Palk said advice offerings to clients entering aged care arrangements aimed to ensure they had financial means to pay for accommodation bonds, their estate plans were in place, they were aware of pension and disability entitlements and that spouses of people dependent on care services had sufficient financial resources. “It’s more about advice, not products – how to make sure you can fund living expenses and get entitlements and pay accommodation bonds…We’d hope they have power of attorney sorted before they reach this stage.’ “Family members often have to make these decisions at a crisis time…Financial planners are finding there are a lot of ad hoc decisions being made.” ipac is an AXA-owned dealer group and investment multi-manager.