If you can't afford or don't want to live in a retirement village, this final of three articles looks at the options available to you.
Retirement accommodation is more than just shelter and involves an array of support services necessary for comfort and security.
How much support you need depends on your physical and mental condition.
Now that people are living longer, your housing needs may change several times during your retirement.
Previous articles in this series considered one option for retirement living - retirement villages. While there are some cheaper villages around, this is generally a more expensive choice of accommodation. This article considers cheaper options.
Where you live will be largely determined by your health. The options range from continuing to live in your own home, provided you are still totally independent, to moving into a frailcare centre, where you can have 24-hour nursing.
Institutional Facilities
The new assessment and admission policy to state-subsidised old age homes, which is expected to be brought in next year, is going to make it increasingly difficult to be admitted to frail-care centres, says Syd Eckley, executive director of the South African Council for the Aged.
The cost of state subsidised institutional care starts at about R1 800 a month. The institution gets a subsidy of about R1 100 a person, so you can expect to pay about R700 a month.
Old age homes or frail-care centres are also run by private organisations, but generally cost between R3 000 and R6 000, depending on the facilities and services supplied.
Living With Your Children
There is a growing trend of retirees moving in with their children, says Eckley.
By the end of the century one third of the elderly will probably be accommodated in their children's homes, Eckley says.
It can be very stressful to live in the same house as your grandchildren and one solution may be a granny flat - accommodation which is separate from the main house and preferably with its own kitchen facilities.
The granny flat concept has great potential, but can also be fraught with pitfalls, Eckley warns.
You must make sure you have the independence and privacy that you require.
Be wary of selling your own house and ploughing your money into building a granny flat on your children's property. It is sensible to register the granny flat as a separate unit in your name.
You should also have a contract with your children that will deal with issues such as what will happen when they sell their property, says Eckley.
Sub-economic Accommodation
There are 406 sub-economic housing projects around the country run by welfare and private organisations and local authorities.
Eckley says that since 1993, when welfare organisations were given the opportunity to acquire these schemes from the Housing Commission, many have been sold to individuals under sectional title or life right.
To compound the problem, the Department of Housing's policy document does not make provision for capital funding of sub-economic housing projects, so it is highly unlikely that any more of these projects will be built.
The welfare organisations have repositioned themselves to attract people who are able to pay for their services, leaving the poorest of the poor with no place to go, Eckley says.
Nevertheless there are some reasonably affordable accommodation complexes available around the country.
You can check out these options with the Cape Peninsula Organisation for the Aged, the Association for the Aged in Durban, the Johannesburg Association for the Aged and an organisation called Echo in Port Elizabeth, which runs some affordable retirement villages.
You will pay about 80 to 90 percent of your income to stay in centres run by the Cape Peninsula Organisation for the Aged, says Ann Garden, chief social worker for the organisation.
The Abbeyfield Concept
This is a communal housing concept which originated in the United Kingdom.
There is a South African Society which provides affordable accommodation suitable for the elderly, says Abie Saunders, the development officer.
The society buys a house in a suburb and you are given your own bedroom and share the common areas such as the kitchen, bathroom and lounge.
The homes offer companionship, security and support.
You must be fit and independent to move into these houses, because you are expected to do your share of running the home. No nursing care is provided and when you require nursing you or your family will have to make arrangements for you to move to a frailcare centre.
The costs are divided among the residents, so what you receive for your money depends on what your home can afford. Some homes have a domestic worker to help with household chores, while residents in others tackle these tasks themselves.
The rentals range from R85 to R950 a month.
There are six Abbeyfield houses in the country so far and another three are likely to be established in the Cape next year.
Neighbourhood Old Age Homes
The organisation called Neighbourhood Old Age Homes (Noah) provides communal homes for people with an income of less than R500 a month.
Anne van Niekerk, spokesman for the organisation, says you must be fit enough to shop, cook and clean to live in this type of accommodation.
The organisation buys a suitable house in a suburb and you share with six to eight other people.
To keep costs down you will share a bedroom. This also means there is someone to help you if, for example, you fall and hurt yourself.
These homes are generally available to social welfare pensioners who currently receive a state pension of R470 a month. You pay R125 a month towards the cost of running the house. One of the residents will collect the money and will pay the bills such as water and electricity, while the balance goes into a household bank account for maintenance costs.
Noah was established in 1981 and currently runs 17 homes in the Western Cape.
It also offers help to communities in setting up their own communal homes and there is no fee for this service.
Noah also runs an "extra-care" home into which you can move if you become frail. When you need full-time nursing care, they will apply to old age homes on your behalf.
Independent Living
Many people choose to continue living in their own homes after retirement and provided you are healthy enough, there is no reason why you should not.
You may not be aware that there are various support services available to you. These include meals on wheels, which delivers meals to your doorstep; home nursing and service or senior centres.
Senior centres are run by welfare or private organisations around the country and for a small monthly membership fee, you can get a meal, socialise with your peers and take part in recreational activities.
* The South African Council for the Aged has a database of frail-care centres, homes, senior centres and other services which is available to the public. The telephone number is (021) 24-6270, the fax number is 23-2168 and the e-mail address is [email protected]