Baby boomers should ‘fund their own care in old age’
16 I 02 I 11
The baby boom generation should be
prepared to pay for their own care in old age as their generation
has done “pretty well for itself”, according to a Government
advisor.
Lord Warner is part of the
three-person commission drafting recommendations for plans to
reform the funding for long term care and support for elderly and
disabled adults.
In England, if an individual has
capital over £23,000 (£22,000 in Wales), they will be responsible
for the full cost of their care. With the average cost of care home
fees being £600 per week, the cost of care can spiral.
An ageing population will put
strain on public finances in the coming years and experts predict
that by 2026 the long term care and support system will have a
funding shortfall of £6billion unless changes are made.
Before the election the three main
parties pledged to end the need for pensioners to sell their homes
to fund the cost of care. Coalition ministers have since been
forced to admit that all options will be considered.
Lisa Morgan, Senior Associate with
the Specialist Nursing Care Team at leading law firm Hugh James
states: “I welcome the debate on how residential care is to be
funded in the future. Thousands of people are forced to sell their
homes to pay for care. In our experience, this causes anxiety and
distress to older people and their families.”
She added; “The proposals do not
affect individuals who are entitled to NHS Continuing Healthcare,
where the primary reason they are in a care home is because of
their health and all costs will still be met for free by the
NHS.”
A report from the commission is due
in July but they have already determined there is no single ‘silver
bullet’ solution and individuals, taxpayers and family members will
all be certain to share the burden of costs.