Residential Care Subsidy - Viv and John

Viv was in her late 70s. Her husband John was in his 80s. John suffered a stroke a year ago and had been slowly deteriorating since. Viv was caring for him at home. But that was becoming increasingly difficult, so she talked to her family GP about getting some extra help.

The GP arranged for a needs assessment to be done on John, to determine what sort of extra care he needed. The assessment was that John would benefit from 24-hour care in a rest home for an indefinite length of time.

Viv then contacted Work and Income, which assessed their eligibility for a residential care subsidy to help pay for John's rest home care. Although the couple owned their home, they had few other assets and little income other than New Zealand Super.

Viv was relieved to find that, because she would continue to live in their home, it was not subject to asset testing. She continued to receive her New Zealand Super at the slightly higher, living alone rate to help with the cost of visiting John. John's entitlements went directly towards the cost of his care, but he received a regular personal allowance.

They visited several rest homes and chose one that was close enough for Viv to visit each day. Although moving John into care was a really hard decision, Viv knew it was the best option for both of them.