Over 55's don't want to pay for their own care

Graham_Devon

Seven out of 10 over-55s don't believe they should pay for care in retirement, according to research carried out by insurer Aviva.

Currently, the state offers no help with care costs to individuals with assets in excess of £23,250, which forces many pensioners to sell their homes to pay nursing home fees. The recent report by the Dilnot commission recommended raising the threshold to £100,000, with a lifetime cap on care fees of £35,000.

But even these proposals don't go far enough, according to Aviva's Real Retirement survey. Among those surveyed who felt they should make a contribution, the figure they thought would be appropriate averaged just £3,600 for a lifetime of care. In reality, typical care costs for just a year are about £35,000.

However, Aviva found that while most people do not want to pay for care, the majority concede it is unlikely the state will be able to pick up the bill.

When pressed to say who should pay, 51% said the "better off" should be required to contribute more, while others said the contribution should be based on an individual's lifetime income. More than half (53%) said there should be a cap on the total amount to be paid.

The potential cost of care is a significant worry among the elderly, according to the survey, which found that 12% of the over-55s are "terrified" of the potential bill. Only 2% said they had plans in place to finance care in their retirement.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/sep/21/over-55s-pay-long-term-care-aviva
So around 50% want younger taxpayers to pay for their care, as far as I can see.

However, something needs to be done to make the system "fairer" IMO, I just don't know what.

All I do know, is if the over 55's are worrying as to how they are going to pay, I don't know how they think todays 20-30 year olds are going to pay.

Graham_Devon

And I applaud the writer of this comment!

nohandsclapping 21 September 2011 12:13PM
I'm over 55. My biggest asset is my home which - in common with most people my age and older- was bought with taxpayer subsidy through mortgage interest relief (oh, sorry, were we supposed to keep quiet about that?). Perhaps that should be taken into account before current taxpayers are asked to pay for my care.

puddy

Graham_Devon wrote: »

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/sep/21/over-55s-pay-long-term-care-aviva
So around 50% want younger taxpayers to pay for their care, as far as I can see.

However, something needs to be done to make the system "fairer" IMO, I just don't know what.

All I do know, is if the over 55's are worrying as to how they are going to pay, I don't know how they think todays 20-30 year olds are going to pay.

i can see why some may worry if they have no assetts and so are at the mercy of wherever the LA will put them, but if you have savings or a house to sell, whats to worry about, you're not going back home if you need long term care, so what do you need it for? if you have a spouse still living in the home they wont need to sell the property

this is all about inheritance as usual

abaxas

Ermmm,

No-one offered to care for them. But somehow they think it's a right?

puddy

this is simply an advertisement opportunity for aviva who want to scare people into taking out investments with them

the majority of elderly people do NOT go into nursing homes and even less of them have to sell their homes to pay for it

CLAPTON

so if you ask students whether uni should be free and grants generous you will probably find most in favour
if you ask mortgage payers whether interest ought to be tax deductable you will probably find most agree
if you ask people with children whether there ought to be more support for families with children then most will agree
if you ask pensioners whether pensions should be more generous you will find most agree
if you ask the Scots whether they should receive more money per head that the English then you will find most will agree

is there a common thread anywhere here?

TruckerT

I guess the post-war generations were led to believe that the Welfare State would give equal support to all, irrespective of need

Probably, today's generations are less naive

TruckerT

pqrdef

Graham_Devon wrote: »

which forces many pensioners to sell their homes to pay nursing home fees

"Forces"? Well it's not like they're likely to go back home.

If my house doesn't suit my needs any more, I sell it and allocate my resources to a more suitable arrangement.

But when people go into care, there's this idea that the house should just be left sat sitting there gathering cobwebs. Huh? What's wrong with selling the house immediately and using the proceeds to pay for the new accommodation? Why should people expect to have somewhere to live and an empty house as well?

Oldernotwiser

If opinions on MSE are anything to go by, it's the children of the over 55s who are most concerned about their parents having to fund their own care - out of their anticipated inheritance.

TruckerT

pqrdef wrote: »

If my house doesn't suit my needs any more, I sell it and allocate my resources to a more suitable arrangement.

But when people go into care, there's this idea that the house should just be left sat sitting there gathering cobwebs. Huh? What's wrong with selling the house immediately and using the proceeds to pay for the new accommodation? Why should people expect to have somewhere to live and an empty house as well?

Some of us wrinklies have the idea that our possessions are not actually ours, we're just looking after them until our offspring take over

Not me, though, I have nothing!

TruckerT

Graham_Devon

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

If opinions on MSE are anything to go by, it's the children of the over 55s who are most concerned about their parents having to fund their own care - out of their anticipated inheritance.

You may have seen that on other sections of the forum, but you certainly won't have seen that in this forum.