Selling your house to pay for care in panorama

Dora_the_Explorer_5

xycom1 wrote:

Yes, campaign to scrap the NHS (which is already essentially bankrupt) and social benefits/services.

With the resulting tax cuts, we can take responsibility for ourselves and our families - and those left better off can consult their conscience and donate to charities to help those less well off.

That's one point of view. The downside is that we would have the same health provision as America - with people unable to afford or access any kind of health care.

margaretclare

EdInvestor wrote:

Did the Panorama programme mention Immediate needs annuities?

Anyone who has an elderly relative needing to go into full-time care who owns a home should look at these annuities: they pay the cost of the care of the person for life, and will normally leave quite a bit over from the value of the property.

There is a tax perk - if the income from the annuity is paid direct to the care home, it is not taxed.

Quite a lot of elderly homeowners might have a cash fund which would pay much of the cost of one of these (depending on their age and state of health), without necessarily needing to sell the house.

I didn't see the programme, but the idea of an Immediate Needs Annuity sounds good, and worth looking into for anyone who is in this type of situation.

I'm afraid I'm getting a bit cynical. So often you see on these boards, questions like: 'my parents/grandparents want to leave me their home - can they give it to me in advance to avoid it being snatched if they need to go into care?' I'm cynical like I said. Is it the parent/grandparent wanting this, or is it the younger person seeing their possible 'inheritance' disappearing before their eyes?

I've been told that it's only 25% of over-80s who end their days in a care home. That means that 75% do not, manage to live at home even with help coming in. I also read an article which said that 4% of people had to sell their home to pay for their care, but that the remaining 96% of older people were worried about the possibility!

Aunty Margaret

Dora_the_Explorer_5

Good points, Margaret. Increasingly older people will be offered extra support housing and more support to enable them to stay in their own homes, so today's 25% will reduce significantly in the future. The cost of that kind of accommodation and support will be easily managed by most people and their families which will mean people's houses won't have to be sold to pay for it. Although frankly, most 80 year olds will have paid only a handful of thousands for property which is now worth a heck of a lot more. They weren't being prudent - they were lucky.

nearlyrich

I am not old yet but we have a large house which one day will be too big for one person to manage, heat etc. We have worked hard for the house and see it as part of our pension, if we need to cash it in to get a high standard of care we will. Our children will get what we don't need after we are gone but we will spend what we need to be comfortable.

margaretclare

nearlyrich wrote:

Our children will get what we don't need after we are gone but we will spend what we need to be comfortable.

I think that's the best way to approach this whole problem. That's the way we feel, although we can't downsize from a 2-bedroom bungalow!!

I've even heard of older people living in a house which was way too big for their needs, was becoming difficult to manage, garden too difficult etc, but they wouldn't 'downsize' because they had promised it to their children, it was their inheritance etc....Yet they could release a lot of money if they chose, live comfortably, have money to pay for help etc..

Aunty Margaret