Funding Care for the Elderly
The care of an elderly relative is something most of us face at some time. Often that care just takes up time and devotion. But it can also have major financial implications, whether the cared one remains independent and living in their home, or has to move into a care home.
Long term care is not cheap. The cost of paying for a place in a care home has risen rapidly in recent years, coming only second to the purchase of a family home as a major life time expense. In June 2008 the average care home fee in the UK was £24,700 a year – more if you need nursing care.
The State will only help the least wealth, those people with assets worth less than £23,000 will get a contribution towards their fees. Everyone else has to fund care from existing assets or income. This may seen a daunting task, coming at a time when you are trying to look after an unwell relative. It also seems unfair and arbitrary, penalizing those who have saved over their lifetimes, and rewarding those who have saved nothing.
This website is aimed at providing a guide for anyone facing the challenge of finding and paying care home or nursing home fees for an elderly relative and where to find good, impartial financial advice. It was written after trying to find out basic financial information for a relative that needed to move to a care home, and finding very little available. It looks at what care is available for the elderly, and in more detail the best ways to pay for that care, including long term care contracts, and how you can begin to preserve their estate.