Why care needs care
Why care needs care
by Dr. Ros Altmann
(All material on this page is subject to copyright and must not be reproduced without the author’s permission.)
This week I’d like to highlight an issue that is likely to affect us all – either directly or indirectly. As more and more of us are living longer, how will we pay for care of frail, elderly family members?
Most people have never considered this, or think the Government covers such costs. That is not usually the case. Anyone with assets or income over £23,250 has to fund themselves. While billions of pounds is spent on the NHS, care is funded by local authorities, whose budgets are under unprecedented pressure. They have cut care funding, resulting in regular recent scandals of care home failures or neglect and poor elderly care.
We want better than this for ourselves or our loved ones.
Of course, the Jewish community’s strong family traditions help ensure older relatives are lovingly looked-after and marvellous care institutions such as Jewish Care are dedicated to looking after the most frail, vulnerable members of our community. However care still needs to be paid for. If a loved one becomes incapacitated or needs care at home or in residential care, you and your family suddenly face huge costs (often well over £400 a week). You need urgent specialist financial advice as paying for care can be complex, so you should explore all the options properly.
Equity release – i.e. borrowing against the value of the family home – is one way of raising money for care costs. But don’t rush into this straight away. Some local authorities cover the first few weeks in a care home and offer so-called ‘deferred payment plans’ under which they pay for your care and deduct the cost (interest free and without a fee) from your estate later. Another option is an ‘immediate needs annuity’ whereby you pay a fixed lump sum to an insurance company which will cover the costs of care for however long you need it, giving peace of mind. The ideal, of course, is to set money aside to prepare for care. Perhaps £20,000 – £30,000 (two or three years’ ISA allowance) to ensure funds are there to cover at least the first year’s care costs.
The Government is planning to reform social care and I believe it should urgently encourage care savings plans. Recent official reviews have highlighted how to simplify and improve our system to help people understand and recognise the need to pay for care costs. The sooner we help people prepare, the sooner we can address the elderly care crisis.