A Life Right is a legal agreement that provides exclusive lifelong use of a home. At Ruby Living, residents make a lump sum payment to secure their life right to a specific property and thereafter pay a fixed-escalation levy to cover monthly living costs. The end user is protected by a secure legal framework that affords them the legal protections of full ownership. By purchasing a life right you are effectively securing a userfruct over the property for the rest of your life. The Act that protects you is the Housing Schemes for Retired Persons Act (Act 65 of 1988). When the time comes to leave your home, the Life Right is re-sold and your nominated beneficiary is refunded a lump sum of 80% of the original purchase price. 

The monthly levy covers your living expenses and any costs related to your regular, daily care. It includes access to all common facilities and services, all associated rates and taxes, a certain number of meals (which may differ, depending on the estate and chosen lifestyle option) and routine in-home care. If a change in health circumstances means that significant nursing care becomes necessary, these costs will fall outside the monthly levy and next steps will be discussed with your family.

A fixed escalation levy offers financial certainty for the future. No special levies ever, and no surprises! On 1 of January every year your levy will escalate by 8%, but when the youngest occupant reaches the age of 85, your levy will de-escalate to a 4% increase every year, and then, on reaching the age of 90, your levy will have 0% escalation into perpetuity. This means, in real terms, that as you age your cost of living starts coming down.

The Life Right agreement is structured solely with the needs of our seniors in mind and units may only be rented to a tenant in very exceptional circumstances which will need to be negotiated with the estate manager on a case-by-case basis.

A Life Right is designed to provide seniors with the peace-of-mind that they have a home for the rest of their lives and is in force until they leave the property. There is no provision in a Life Right agreement for it to be transferred to beneficiaries or to anyone else.

At the point when a resident (and surviving spouse) have left the property, 80% of the sum they originally invested in the Life Right is returned to them or their estate. The remaining 20% goes to Ruby Living and is used to reinvest in the maintenance and upkeep of both their property, and the retirement estate, so values grow. Any capital appreciation on the original investment accrues to Ruby Living.

Continuum of Care is a term used to describe the seamless care that is provided to Ruby Living seniors. Inevitably needs change over time and the Continuum of Care is our promise to provide the appropriate levels of care and support to our residents at every stage of their health and wellness journey.

Your levy payments guarantee you 10 free care days in the clinic or respite care wards every year. You will be looked after at no additional cost, except for consumables. This is a tremendous benefit and a cost saving, and many of our customers enjoy being able to fall back on our “care parachute” as and when required.

We will always assess your care needs critically before we make any changes to your living arrangements. We will always consult professionals and discuss with you and your family the best solution for your personal needs. It may be that we provide care in the home, or the best solution for you could be a care centre. In making these crucial decisions, we will always consider not only your care needs, but also what is the most appropriate financial solution for you. Either way, we will always have care and housing solutions for you, no matter what your needs are, and you will never have to move out of a Ruby Living community.

Yes, our estates with frail care facilities are staffed by wonderfully kind and skilled caregivers who take the time, and have the empathy, to help patients with cognitive conditions live their best quality of life at Ruby Living.

No, there is no reason to be moved out of a Ruby Living facility. We have care facilities that can accommodate most care requirements. Any change to your lifestyle will always follow a consultation with you and your loved ones.

There will always be those who are less social than others, but we have thoughtfully designed programmes that ensure healthy social interaction for all our residents. We have resident committees that welcome newcomers, we have a vast selection of social activities, and we have hobby clubs, all with a loving extended hand of friendship. We also have trained social workers who interact with both residents and their families to pick up on life’s curveballs, such as loneliness or bereavement. There is always someone there for you.

Our dedicated care team is on standby to care for all our residents 24/7. There is no care situation that cannot be solved, and, most importantly, we make care our number-one focus at all times.

This is probably the most difficult question to answer in the senior living industry worldwide. The long and short of it is that it really depends on your care needs at the time, and the spectrum of care services ranges from light interventions to resource-intensive care, depending on your needs. It may be that you simply need assistance with medication management on a daily basis (blister pack management and administration), and this may only cost you a couple of hundred rand a month. Alternatively, you may have a chronic form of dementia that requires more than one carer on a full-time basis, and that could cost you anything from R30,000 to R40,000 per month. We will always tailor a solution to your needs from both a care and a financial perspective.

Change is tough. Whether you are retiring from the world of work (though many of our residents don’t!) or are moving away from a home and community where you’ve spent much of your life, it takes time to find a new rhythm. At Ruby Living, we don’t see retirement as a one-shot deal. There are multiple phases to it and plenty of changes along the way, especially for those who retire in their 60s and live long into their 80s and 90s. So, it’s important to give yourself some space, and grace, as you learn to embrace each ‘new normal’.