If only she knew, how Iris would weep at her £850,000 lost to care fees
HER late husband Roy was a money man, an accountant with financial giant Deloitte and a whizz with figures at both work and home.
He certainly set his family up for the future. Iris Laing had a beautiful home in Reading with a garden that was the envy of the neighbours.
When Roy died suddenly in 2007, Iris was more financially secure than most. She was left with savings of around £500,000 as well as a house worth over £300,000.
And with her savings invested wisely – reaping the benefits of a five per cent interest rate – surely she would never have to worry about money again? Not quite.
If Roy were alive today, he would be horrified to see how things have panned out for his wife. ‘If Iris knew herself, I can’t imagine what she would think’, says Peter Evans, her cousin and the person responsible for running Iris’s affairs after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s 12 years ago.
‘Most of that money is gone. When you tot it up, over 11 years and nine months, £856,000 has been spent on care home fees so far.’ Like his cousin’s late husband, Peter is also a retired City trader. He is used to dealing with daunting figures on a spreadsheet.
It was in 2007 that Peter, who lives in Sunbury- on-Thames in Surrey, stepped up to the mark at a time of family crisis. Having just lost her husband, Iris’s condition was deteriorating and she was fast losing the ability to make decisions and so power of attorney was needed.
Peter and Iris hadn’t exactly been close as children, but had seen more of each other’s families throughout the 80s and 90s.
‘We still weren’t close, but we’d have them over a few times a year,’ Peter recalls. ‘Before she was diagnosed we knew something was wrong. Once at dinner she was sick all over the place, completely out of the blue.’ Soon the once lively Iris became forgetful and confused. ‘She’d always been so immaculate. Her hair was perfect. Her house was always spotless.’ When it became clear that Iris was struggling, Peter was contacted by her neighbour of 40 years.
‘I was happy to help out, because there weren’t really any other blood relatives.’ And in November 2007, they were forced to move Iris into a care home. Now, 12 years on, Iris is still with us. To a point. It has been many years since she has been able to recognise Peter.
She now lives in a nursing home in Surrey, her third such establishment. The first, says Peter, chosen by the local council was a ‘hideous place’. Peter’s attempts to find a better home proved quite the ordeal. ‘The number of ones which smelled of urine...’ he complains. ‘I wasn’t having it for Iris.’
She stayed in the second nursing home for four years, before a change of management led to her care becoming less attentive.
Her current home is ‘one of the best’, he insists. For Iris, life has all but ceased and it is distressing to witness. ‘I used to go twice a week, but now it’s more like once. I volunteer as a helper there now. I drive the bus on outings.’
Iris’s days of trips out are over. She is a prisoner, if only in her own body. ‘She’s barely conscious. At night she just lies in her bed and stares at the ceiling.’ In fact, Iris is dying as she lived – quietly, without much fuss. ‘She’s very docile,’ says Peter. ‘Always was. Still is. You’d hardly know she was there.’ But if Iris could comprehend how her savings have been plundered, it is unlikely she would remain so tranquil. For the figures involved are just extraordinary.
‘At the minute, Iris’s nursing home is costing £7,200 a month. But things like toiletries are extra. All her savings are gone. Most of the money from the sale of her £335,000 house is too. If she lives for another three years – which she may well do – everything will be gone.’ What happens then?
‘Well when her savings run down to the magic £23,250 figure [the threshold below which the government pays for care], the council will start paying something. But will they pay £7,200 a month? I doubt it.’ Peter, who is not a beneficiary in Iris’s will, has been doing his best to stem the haemorrhage from Iris’s accounts.
When he first started handling the finances, it was much easier. ‘With half a million invested, and interest rates at four or five per cent, there was a bit more balance. But more recently you are lucky to get one per cent, and I can’t take any risks with her capital.’ In short, Iris’s money is disappearing at a horrifying rate.
Peter resents the extortionate fees. ‘All these nursing homes are businesses. They will always be businesses, and that’s the problem. Every year they put fees up, but never up by one per cent or two per cent. I’ve seen fees go up by even seven per cent a year.’
Of course, Peter could have housed Iris in a cheaper home. He shudders. ‘I couldn’t, hand on heart, have put her in some of the cheaper places I went to see. You wouldn’t put an animal there.’
So Iris will continue to have the best care. But for how long? ‘She could keep on going – and even outlive me!’, Peter concludes. ‘What on earth will happen then?’