Care in Old Age - Arranging Help

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Care in Old Age - Arranging Help

If your income and/or capital are above the limits for state help, you will have no choice but to rely on your own resources. Family members can be an important source of private care. Currently, one in five men and one in four women aged 45 to 64 is caring for a relative, friend or neighbour; over a third of these are looking after a parent.

However, as already noted, the outlook for the future is uncertain.

There is a strong possibility that, if you do need long-term care later in life, you will have to pay for professional care either in your own home or in an institutional setting.

This could quickly run down your assets, but that should not necessarily be viewed as a problem. There are two main questions to consider:

• If you have a husband, wife or unmarried partner, would he or she be financially insecure if you had to move into a residential or nursing home? Similarly, would you have too little to live on if he or she went into a home?
  
• Are you particularly keen to preserve your assets, for example to hand on to your children?

This is an issue perhaps you should discuss with your family. In a poll by Mintel, eight out of ten adults said that their parents should spend their money on looking after themselves in old age rather than storing it up to be passed on in inheritance.

If your answer to either of these questions is 'yes', long-term care insurance could be worth looking at.