Retirement is often portrayed as a time of leisure, relaxation, and a chance to enjoy the fruits of your labour. However, whenever I discuss the retirement living sector outside of work, I am often faced with the misconceptions about retirement villages being exclusively for the wealthy, and the completely false narrative that only those with substantial financial resources can enjoy their golden years in a comfortable and secure environment. In reality, retirement villages are designed to cater to a wide range of individuals with diverse budgets and financial circumstances.

In this article we aim to dispel the myths and shed light on the affordability and accessibility they offer to retirees from all walks of life.

In-house Advisors

Something exclusive to ExtraCare, is our amazing team of Welfare Benefits Advisors that come with a wealth of knowledge surrounding affordability and options for many different circumstances.

Natalie James, Welfare Benefits Leader says: “Our main aim is to assist our residents to maximise their income through identifying benefits and assistance they may be missing out on. We provide regular surgeries where residents can come and see us in a private and confidential setting, or if they prefer, they can email us or call us instead.

We work closely with our sales and housing departments providing affordability assessments before people move in, so they have a clear picture of what they are going to be left with after paying their charges. We then follow this through to assisting with the necessary claims upon move in.

Through providing regular surgeries we can capture changes in circumstances to income or health/care needs and any associated benefits we can claim for residents. We also provide training to our staff so they can also assist us in capturing those that may need help.

People should claim what they are entitled to, many don’t like to make claims or find the claim forms too confusing, but it really does make a difference to their quality of life, especially with the cost of living increasing. In 2021/22, we supported residents in claiming £4.9m in benefits!”