Higher level care in a New Zealand retirement village refers to rest home, hospital or dementia care provided on site. Care may be delivered within a dedicated care home or, in some villages, within a serviced apartment or care suite. Whether you need to move depends on your assessed care needs and the services available.
Key takeaways
- Many retirement villages in New Zealand offer on-site rest home and hospital level care. Not all provide dementia or psychogeriatric care.
- You may need to move outside the village if your care needs exceed what is available on site.
- Government funding depends on asset and income thresholds assessed by Work and Income.
- The type of room you choose affects what you pay, especially if it is a premium room or care suite.
- Moving into care may involve ending one Occupation Right Agreement and signing another.
On this page
Types of Care
In New Zealand, care is offered across four levels: rest home, hospital, dementia, and psychogeriatric. An on-site care home within a retirement village may provide one or more of these levels of care. Typically, a care home offers rest home and potentially hospital level care. However, specialised units and nursing care are necessary for secure dementia and psychogeriatric care, which not all care homes have the facilities or staff to provide. As a result, residents in need of this higher level of care may need to transition outside of the village.
Accommodation options
Care accommodation is typically offered in a room located within a care home. Rooms vary in size and amenities depending on the specific care home and whether you occupy a standard or premium room. Some retirement villages provide care accommodation in care suites or apartments.
Standard rooms
These are usually single rooms and often have space for small items of personal furniture, such as an armchair.
Premium rooms
These are usually double rooms (or larger) with premium features such as an ensuite, private bathroom, or garden views.
Care Suites
By law, a retirement village disclosure statement must set out key information about the village, including:
Serviced apartments
Residents who live in a serviced apartment may not be required to move if they require a higher level of care. This will depend on whether the retirement village can cater for higher levels of care within their existing apartment. It’s important to understand exactly what this arrangement would look like. For example, a village may offer rest home level care in a serviced apartment, but require you to move into a room within a care home if you require hospital or dementia level care.
Other considerations
Respite care
An advantage of moving into a retirement village with an on-site care home is you will likely be able to receive respite care if recuperating from an illness or operation. Respite care can help to speed up recovery as you’ll receive plenty of rest and be cared for by healthcare professionals.
Dementia care considerations
It’s important to note there are different types of dementia level care that an on-site care home can cater for. For example, an on-site care home may be able to care for someone with early onset dementia, but someone with higher level dementia may require specialist, secure accommodation. When visiting a retirement village that does offer dementia level care, ensure you ask specifically about the level of dementia that they can accommodate.
Couples
If you’re in a partnership, it’s likely that you and your partner will have different care needs as time goes on. Retirement villages are a great option for couples with different needs as they often allow couples to stay together even when one person’s care needs progress faster than the other. For example, the person who is able to live independently could remain in a villa, while the other might move into a service apartment or room within the care home.
Government Funding
In New Zealand, the government contributes towards care for people who have been assessed as no longer being able to live independently. If you currently reside in a retirement village, your eligibility for this subsidy depends on the same Asset and Income thresholds as someone living in the community (outside of a retirement village).
Eligibility for the Long-Term Residential Care Subsidy is determined following a needs assessment carried out by a Needs Assessment and Service Coordination service, along with a financial means assessment completed by Work and Income.
Asset threshold
As of July 2025, the combined value of you and your partner’s assets must not exceed $291,825 to qualify for government support.
Assets include your home, investment properties, shares, cash and savings.
If one partner is moving into long-term residential care and the other remains living in the community, you can choose whether to include the family home and personal vehicle in the asset calculation. If these are excluded, the asset threshold reduces to $159,810.
A home is not counted as an asset if it is the main residence of the partner who is not entering care or any dependent children.
Work and Income will also consider whether assets have been transferred to a trust, or whether the applicant or their partner has been a settlor, trustee or beneficiary of a trust or estate.
Income limits
Work and Income will check if your income is below a certain limit. How this is calculated is dependent on the type of income.
Gifting rules
One important part of the asset assessment is the consideration of assets gifted or sold in the past five years.
Work and Income will check what assets an individual or couple has gifted or sold, but they won’t count up to $8,000 worth of assets per year (a total of $40,000). For a couple who applies at the same time this doubles to $80,000 ($40,000 each).
Regional maximum contribution
There is a maximum weekly contribution that a resident can be required to pay for long-term residential care. This maximum is set nationally but varies by territorial local authority region.
If you qualify for the Residential Care Subsidy, the government pays the difference between your assessed contribution and the maximum contracted care rate.
Standard room
If you move into a standard room, any subsidy you are eligible for will go towards your accommodation and care costs.
Premium room
If you move into a premium room, your subsidy will contribute towards your care and standard accommodation costs, but you will need to pay an additional premium room charge. This charge reflects enhanced features such as a private bathroom, larger room size or improved outlook.
ORA Considerations
Moving into higher level care within a retirement village may involve changes to your Occupation Right Agreement (ORA). ORAs are governed by the Retirement Villages Act 2003 and set out your rights, obligations and financial terms.
Care suites and certified care apartments are often sold under a separate ORA. If you move from independent living into a care suite, you will usually end your existing ORA and enter into a new one.
This can affect:
- Capital repayment timing
- Deferred management fees
- Weekly village fees
- The financial position of a remaining partner
For this reason, it is important, even when first entering independent living, to understand how a future move into a care suite would work and what the financial implications would be.
Frequently asked questions
Can I stay in my retirement village if I need higher level care?
Sometimes, but not always. It depends on whether your village has an on-site care home and what levels of care it offers.
Many on-site care homes provide rest home and hospital level care, but not all offer secure dementia or psychogeriatric care. If the level of care you require can’t be met on site, you may need to move to a different facility that can meet your needs.
Where care is available within the village, retirement villages generally give priority access to their own residents and will do what they can to accommodate changing care needs where possible.
Do all retirement villages offer hospital and dementia care?
No. Not all retirement villages have on-site care, and those that do may only offer certain levels of care. Many care homes provide rest home and hospital level care, but dementia and psychogeriatric care require specialist, secure facilities and trained staff, which not every village has.
Check each village’s disclosure statement to confirm what levels of care are available.
Will I need to move if my care needs increase?
You may need to move, depending on your care needs and what your village can provide. For example, a village might support rest home level care on site but require residents to move elsewhere for hospital or dementia care.
How is government funding for care assessed if I live in a retirement village?
Government funding is assessed in the same way as it is for someone living in the community. Work and Income looks at your assets and income to determine whether you are eligible for a care subsidy.
Your villa or apartment within a retirement village is treated as an asset as part of this assessment, in the same way any other home would be.
What happens if I’m living in a serviced apartment and need more care?
This depends on the village. Some villages can provide rest home level, and in some cases hospital or dementia level, care within a serviced apartment. Others may require you to move into a room within the care home if your care needs increase.
It’s important to ask exactly what levels of care can be provided in your apartment and at what point a move would be required.
Can couples stay together if one person needs care and the other does not?
Often, yes. Many retirement villages are designed to support couples with different care needs. One partner may remain in independent living while the other moves into a serviced apartment or care home. The key consideration is understanding the financial implications of this arrangement.
What should I ask a village about future care before I move in?
Ask what levels of care are available on site, whether you would need to move if your care needs change, how priority for care is managed, and what accommodation options exist at each care level. It’s also important to understand the financial implications, including how subsidies work and whether moving into care would involve ending one agreement and starting another.
Disclaimer:
This article provides general information about higher level care in New Zealand retirement villages. It does not constitute legal or financial advice. Eligibility rules and subsidy thresholds may change. Seek independent professional advice before making decisions.
