Elizabeth (not her real name) aged 85, a widow since 20 years ago. She has no kids and she is living alone on a monthly pension income of RM1000, on top of some inheritance from her husband. So far, she has been able to live on this income, by carefully monitoring her spending and drawing on her limited savings. She doesn’t see herself as living on the edge of a financial crisis. Should her health worsen or she needs assistance at home or a nursing home, Elizabeth doesn’t seem to know how she could pay for those expenses.

Malaysia will become an ageing nation by 2030 with 14.2% of the population being senior citizens (aged 60 and above). The figure will increase to 23.1% by 2050, thanks to the increase in the life expectancy rate with the advancement of modern medical treatments. The growing ageing population also means a greater demand for dedicated senior living facilities in Malaysia, which have been mushrooming in Klang Valley in recent years. The change in lifestyle and mindset among the ageing population, and also the decreasing number of family caregivers have encouraged the establishment of modern senior living facilities in Malaysia.

According to TheEdgeMarkets and my own survey, currently, there are a few senior living facilities in Malaysia:

Project	Location	High-rise/Landed
Eden on the Park	Kuching, Sarawak	Both
AraGreens	Ara Damansara, Selangor	High-rise
The Parque@Eco Sanctuary	Kota Kemuning, Selangor	High-rise
GreenAcres	Ipoh, Perak	Landed
Green Leaf	Sepang, Selangor	High-rise
Rei Seraya	Jalan Ampang	High-rise
Millenia Village	Seremban	High-rise

There are numerous senior living care and nursing homes that cater to the different needs of medical care outside a hospital. Recently, a new facility, a mobile healthcare service, also provides personal and medical care services at the comfort of the elderly in their own home.

Generally, there are 2 types of senior living facilities:

1. Independent senior living

Most senior citizens want to remain independent, stay in control and enjoy a quality of life in their golden years. Due to their abilities declining with age, and without family caregivers, they require living facilities that come with services such as dining, laundry, housekeeping, routine medical check-ups, therapy, medical management, social activities and concierge. Beyond the brick and mortar, the seniors get to build social connections and enjoy elderly-friendly community living. Hence, an integrated retirement village is designed and built for the seniors to enhance the quality of the retirement living environment by providing comfortable accommodations, services, and facilities which meet the seniors’ social and economic needs. When a health crisis hits, just one phone call would initiate in-home nursing services, or moving to assisted living or nursing care. 

2. Assisted living

Assisted living facilities are for those who cannot live independently because of medical reasons. Due to the high occupancy rate, many senior living facilities also offer long-term care outside a hospital for those who require 24-hour nursing supervision in a nursing home that include services such as meal planning, cleaning, laundry assistance with showering, nursing care, medication management and social activities.  There are many assisted living care facilities such as The Senior Care, The Mansion, Lotus Care, My Aged Care, De Luxe, Solace Care etc to cater to the needs of the seniors in Klang Valley.

So how much does it cost for assisted living facilities and independent senior living with the concept of a retirement village?

Assisted Living Care	Average Cost per month (RM)
Ambulatory per bed charge Bedridden/Wheelchair-bound/bed charge Standard care per bed charge	1,500-2,000 2,000-3,600 3000-5,500 (2-bedded room)
Total Cost for Assisted Living Care	4,500-8,000 (2-bedded room)

                              Disclaimer: The rates above were obtained during the survey and current costs may differ

As for the independent senior living with the retirement village concept, most of the projects are for leasing such as Millenia Village and Rei Seraya. Depending on the size, the number of people staying, and room types, the rental ranges between RM4,500-7,500 per month. Meals (breakfast and dinner included), house-keeping, laundry service, gyms and workout place, and transport service are provided for the daily social activities. There are also projects that you can buy as a community living but with senior living environmental friendly. Some projects sell the units like a condo unit, where some projects offer a lump sum upfront cash deposit of RM310,000-400,000 which will be deducted 1% per year, and a monthly rental fee of between RM400-500, like the one in GreenAcres, Ipoh.

Our conversations with the clients have traditionally focused on the concrete information about finances, but by expanding that relationship to involve longevity planning may address the client’s financial situation more comprehensively. Conversations on topics such as eldercare, health, housing, home modification, and legacy planning are intimately connected to the client’s finances and their well-being in retirement and can result in more comprehensive financial planning. By making a sincere effort to understand the context of clients’ lives and the unique complexities involved in their financial priorities can establish trust and commitment, and strengthen client-advisor relationship. You can then leverage these understandings to individualize the planning approach and cater to each client’s unique circumstances.

Many parents, including ourselves might view moving to such a community as depriving our children of an inheritance. Yet, sometimes it may turn out to be a good way of taking care of our own self, as well as our children’s financial wellbeing.

So, will your parents’ senior care cost you a fortune? Likewise, will your own senior living facility cost your kids an inheritance?

What are you going to do about it?