Paying for Care Without Selling the Family Silver?

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Jacqueline Berry, Founding Director of My Care Consultant
Jacqueline Berry, Founding Director of My Care Consultant.

Did you know that approximately 80% of the country’s wealth currently lies with the over 50s? That may not seem too surprising – after all, we expect to accumulate greater wealth as we progress up the ladder and towards the pinnacle of our careers. We then expect to take a pension and hope to eventually leave our wealth to our family or other beneficiaries. Yet increasingly the wealth that lies in the older population is being eaten up by care fees or simply by people living longer. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

You’re probably aware that with today’s medical advances, and healthier life styles, many more of us are living longer than previous generations. Even if we maintain our health well into old age, we may have to fund that active life style for longer than expected. And if we’re unfortunate enough to develop care needs, then we may find ourselves trying to fund that care for many more years than we ever planned for.  On top of this, we have recent changes to legislation such as the Pensions Freedoms which the Chancellor introduced, giving people more control over their savings and flexible access to their pension pots in later life. While some aspects of this are of course welcome, it seems we’re expecting everyone to be their own actuary, fortune teller and investment manager!

But what about the much discussed ‘care cap’? Isn’t it designed to limited the amount that anyone would need to pay towards their own care? Unfortunately, while it was a welcome part of the Care Act and had originally been planned for introduction in April 2016, it has now been delayed until April 2020, leaving those who may need care over the next several years with little realistic prospect of state help at any point if they have more than the most minimal of assets.

An equally alarming fact is that 1 in 4 people who currently fund their own care run out of money. For the running of care homes, as well as for the individuals being cared for and their families, certainty and security of funding are vital. The reality is often insecurity, anxiety and distress as the money gradually runs out. Yet with careful planning and the in depth knowledge of a well-qualified Financial Adviser who specialises in later life issues and care funding, it doesn’t have to be like this.

Here at the My Care Consultant we’re passionate about making sure that people really do know what all of their options are. We care about finding solutions that give peace of mind to everyone – creating plans that ensure an individual’s care fees can be covered for life, while at the same time preserving as much of their wealth as possible.

Nobody should have to face the stress and uncertainty of running out of money simply because they didn’t know what was possible.

For more information or to discuss any questions you may have, please call me on 020 3290 3110 or email jberry@mycareconsultant.co.uk

Jacqueline Berry
Founding Director, My Care Consultant