A cap on bills won’t help if you need care now
OLDER people needing long-term care are being warned not to pin their hopes on any new Government promise to limit bills.
Reports last week suggested a Coalition U-turn, with David Cameron set to announce a £35,000 cap on the sum anyone should pay towards the cost of care.
This could save families tens of thousands of pounds if care is needed for a long period.
Under current rules, the State helps with care bills only after assets fall below £23,250 in England and Wales (£24,750 in Scotland). This means thousands of older people are forced to spend most of their life savings – including the proceeds from selling the family home – on care bills.
The weekly bill in a residential home in the South-East can top £1,000.
However, any reform is still years away. Depending on the detail of what is announced, the new cap may not come in until 2017. The vast majority of those who need care today are unlikely to live to see the benefit of any change.
Janet Davies, managing director of specialist care advice network Symponia, says: ‘Every time you get a report like this people think, “I don’t need to plan”, but sadly that is not the case.
‘If someone needs care now, they will need to plan for funding that care now.’
This means using products such as specialist care annuities to guarantee fees can be paid and that savings will not run short.
Andrew Dilnot, who chaired the commission that originally proposed the cap on care fees, says that the Government must act quickly.
He warns that many lives are currently being ‘blighted’ by the burden of care costs.
Last month, the Government appeared to kick care funding into the long grass. Financial Mail accused it of lacking leadership.