Get help with financial planning for retirement

The average person in a residential care home pays £32K a year.  Someone in a McCarthy Stone Retirement Living PLUS apartment with eight hours of care per week pays on average £18,730 a year.^‡

Found a retirement property you love? Every development has its own friendly and approachable consultant, who can offer support with understanding the costs involved in the property as well as the features. They are here to help you make the right choice for you - and that includes financially. Which means, that as well as outlining the lifestyle and services, your consultant will be able to explain the practical things – like the pros and cons of buying outright or renting, for instance. They will take you through affordability checks and put you in touch with our free entitlements advice service. We’d also recommend you talk to an independent financial advisor too.

We’ll put you in touch with Aleks Clayton, our Entitlements Advisor. She can offer free advice to ensure you are getting all the money you are eligible to, so you can factor it into your financial planning for your retirement.

Aleks’s list of some of the things you might be entitled to:

Attendance Allowance

‘This is paid by the Department for Work and Pensions to people of state pension age or above who have a long-term health condition which impacts on their daily lives. It is not means tested – income and savings are disregarded. It is currently paid at two rates – either £61.85 or £92.40per week^† and is not taxable.’

Pension Credit

‘This is also paid to people of state pension age or above by the Department for Work and Pensions. It is means tested and is assessed on income and certain savings amounts. If a person qualifies for Pension Credit, they may be eligible for other benefits, for example free dental treatment or a free TV licence, if they’re aged 75 or above.’

Council Tax Reduction

‘This is means tested and could result in a partial or full reduction of Council Tax.’

Council Tax Disregard/Discount/Exemption

‘These are not means tested and are paid if your circumstances meet the criteria.’

Housing Benefit

‘This is means tested and could result in a partial payment towards the rent of an apartment.’

We offer a range of flexible occupancy options so you can find the right fit for your circumstances. Here’s a brief overview:

Buying

You can purchase your retirement apartment or bungalow outright, but we can also help you get a mortgage if needed. Buying is ideal for people wanting to invest and enjoy the security of knowing their home is their own.

Renting

Renting your McCarthy Stone property is a flexible alternative to buying and often you can move in much quicker. You’ll also benefit from a simple, easy-to-manage monthly payment, which includes the service charge as well as the rent.

Part buy, part rent

Part buy, part rent allows you to purchase a minimum 50% share in a brand new McCarthy Stone retirement property and pay rent on the part you don’t own. This could be a more cost-effective way of owning your new home.

Our Part Exchange and Smooth Move services can help you manage the costs of your retirement, as well as taking the hassle out of the moving process and giving you a more relaxed means of settling into your new retirement property.

• Learn how our Part Exchange works and how you can enjoy a simpler and quicker sale process, no estate agent fees and free removals.
• Learn about Smooth Move, our free specialist removal service. As well as support with things like decluttering and packing, we’ll pay towards your estate agency and legal fees.

It’s worth subscribing to our weekly Newsletter to keep an eye out for our competitions and seasonal special offers. You can also find out more about them at our events and open days.

Did you know that buying a retirement property off-plan is often cheaper too?

Explore off-plan properties and bag yourself a bargain.

As is usual for apartments or developments with communal areas, you’ll pay a monthly service charge when you buy or rent a McCarthy Stone retirement property (when you rent the service charge is included in the quoted rental price).  But our service charge covers so much more than your average apartment, giving you a wealth of services and amenities to make your retirement more enjoyable.  Despite this we keep costs as low as possible and many homeowners find that service charges work out less than what they were paying for comparable services on their old home.

Service charges can save you money

In a McCarthy Stone retirement apartment you could save over £2,300 a year compared to the cost of running a typical home**. This is due to lower heating, water and other utility bills, including Council Tax, lower home insurance and the procurement of more efficient and effective services by McCarthy Stone. All gardening, decoration and maintenance in the beautiful communal areas and gardens is taken care of. Homeowners also benefit from extra services that they did not receive in their previous home, such as the House Manager, communal facilities, emergency call systems and onsite bistros.

Service charges vary depending on what is available at your development

For example, if you choose to live in a Retirement Living development, your service charge covers:

• Paying for the House Manager – they ensure the development runs smoothly
• All maintenance of the building and grounds, including window cleaning, gardening and upkeep of the building exteriors and communal areas
• A 24-hour emergency call system
• Monitored fire alarms and door camera entry security systems
• Buildings insurance, water and sewerage rates
• Maintaining lifts
• Heating and lighting in communal areas

And if you live in a Retirement Living PLUS development, your service charge is for:

•  Paying for the Estates Manager – they ensure the development runs smoothly
• Staff on-site 24/7 for your peace of mind
• The running costs of the onsite bistro/restaurant (there is an additional subsidised charge for meals/drinks)
• One hour of domestic assistance per week.
• All maintenance of the building and grounds, including window cleaning, gardening and upkeep of the building exteriors and communal areas
• A 24-hour emergency call system
• Monitored fire alarms and door camera entry security systems
• Buildings insurance, water and sewerage rates
• Maintaining lifts 
• Heating and lighting in communal areas

Each development’s service charge varies depending on location and facilities.  The number of bedrooms in your retirement property is also factor. Here are some example prices:

• To buy a one-bedroom Retirement Living apartment in Stoke-on-Trent, you would pay a service charge of £40.06 per week.
• To buy a two-bedroom Retirement Living apartment in County Durham, you would pay a service charge of £69.09 per week.

You can find out more about McCarthy Stone service charges here, and on each development listing you can see a breakdown of costs to help you budget for your retirement property.

Ultimately, the biggest benefit of the McCarthy Stone service charge is peace of mind. You don’t have to worry about looking after the development or its communal areas, personal safety or high energy bills - instead you have more time to focus on enjoying your retirement and the busy social calendar of informal gatherings and regular clubs, events and meet-ups you’ll discover on your doorstep.

Retirement properties with good returns

When the time comes to move on, we have an exclusive specialist estate agency for people selling McCarthy Stone retirement properties. Our unique skills and expertise mean we’re better equipped to achieve a faster sale at a better price than traditional estate agents and for some developments we have a waiting list of people keen to move in. We outperform local estate agents when it comes to sale price and achieve a net price increase on average for the properties we resell. For example, the net increase averages 6% for properties bought new in the last three years and then resold. Find out more about our resales service.

Want to learn more about how we can help with your financial planning?

Don’t hesitate to get in touch online, or by calling 0800 201 4811. Our friendly teams are on hand to offer guidance on how we can help make your retirement finances go further.