In retirement villages, choice is supposed to be at the heart of the experience – choice of community, lifestyle and care. Yet, when it comes to how residents pay, many villages still offer only one option.

Increasingly, operators are recognising that isn’t good enough. Many – big and small, for-profit and not-for-profit – now offer residents a choice: pay the management fee upfront or pay it at the end. The question is, should that choice be mandatory?

Aged care can be difficult to afford, so it’s important to give retirees as much choice as possible.Credit: Andrew Quilty

The logic is simple. Any time you buy something today but pay for it tomorrow – or in 10 years’ time – it costs more. Sometimes a lot more. Not giving people the option to pay upfront starts to feel a little like forced finance.

It’s the retirement-living equivalent of being told you can........

© The Sydney Morning Herald