Associate Professor Timothy Kyng from the Department of Actuarial Studies, is seeking people to test his new retirement village calculator which is designed to protect seniors from making financial mistakes.

Participants in this important consumer research project will test the online calculator on campus, to see if they find it useful in understanding the extent of the fees and charges that must be paid at retirement villages.

The project will aid members of the community, particularly older people, but also their families when understanding the details in retirement village contracts and the huge fees that are payable when they leave.

Elderly consumers and their families are often shocked by how much it costs to live in a retirement village. This often doesn’t become clear until they leave, either because they need aged care or pass away. The amount returned after all the fees and charges can be almost half the purchase price.

This new calculator helps people make informed decisions and increases transparency in an industry that is exploiting vulnerable older Australians.

This Week recently featured a story on the intricacies of this online financial calculator and the potential benefits to senior citizens to help understand and compare complex retirement village contracts. 

To get involved in the consumer research project, contact Linda Drake.