Best savings plan for Aunties money

della11

Having POA and having 'almost' completed on the sale of aunties house I will have approximately 200k to invest/look after whilst at the same time ensuring the care home receives its £3000 every 28 days, which will be £39,000 per annum.

I thought if I'd leave 12 months worth of funds in an easy access account, put maximum amount in an NISA, that still leaves quite a bit to hopefully invest elsewhere.

Any good ideas out there please.

xylophone

What will auntie's other income be? Does she have State Pension, private pension, investment income, savings income, Attendance Allowance?

https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/eligibility - she will still qualify? (Not in receipt of pension credit etc)

How old is she? Would you wish to consider an immediate needs annuity?

della11

Shes 84.
Has state pension, attendance allowance, and £218 pm private pension. That's it.

jimjames

At 84 I'd think investing it wouldn't be a very good idea.

Probably safest to put it in the best paying accounts you can find which may include current accounts if you're prepeto set that up.

della11

Thank you jimjames, thats the conclusion I've come to after looking around this site.

kangoora

I assume you've done the full financial assessment with the local council for any care home fees.

You don't say if you aunt has dementia, but if she does then the NHS is liable to pay part of the weekly care home cost as a 'nursing' contribution I believe.

This could be useful if the above applies
http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=2710

Hope it is useful

xylophone

At 84 I'd think investing it wouldn't be a very good idea.

Age is not always the only criterion - I have known people who went into a care home in their late eighties and survived to their late nineties- if income and cash is substantial, then investments may be worth considering.

talexuser

I'm in a very similar position with my mother (same age), but have her assets within her isa to plan income for the next years.

If we look at your situation and make some assumptions:
state pension ~9700 a year
private pension ~2600 a year
if she has a personal allowance of 10660 then she will be paying some tax on this.
assume net income ~12000 a year
is attendance high rate? then another ~4200 a year
so income is ~16200
shortfall from 39000 =~22800
on a simple spend of 200k that is ~8 or 9 years.

You could open all the high paying current accounts as POA and get around 3% on 60 or 70k. However I found the POA process a right pain with my mothers banks so be prepared for some hassle.

You could look at some high dividend funds paying 5 to 7%. The downside of these is possible loss of capital risk long term, but this might not be such a risk compared to the advantage of less direct spend now depleting savings faster, this is something I am wresting with now in my own mother's circumstances. Or slightly less risky income funds paying around 4% available monthly, which is very convenient. All the standard warnings of stock market investments apply.

Next year she should have a savings interest tax allowance of 5000, so that will help with interest income and tax. But it might be worthwhile getting 15K inside an isa wrapper this year and then another 15k next April, since you can't get the full 200k in current accounts anyway, and it could well give flexibility for transfers to cash or bond funds later.

della11

NHS pay £109 pw (I think) that's basically for dishing out her meds.

She has reduced mental capacity but not officially diagnosed with Dementia, they just say she gets "confused".

I am going to apply for further funding to see if she qualifies. (Nothing ventured after all).

She's epileptic, lived with heart failure for many years and since falling and breaking her hip has become immobile, which is the reason she ended up in the home.
However she must have a strong constitution and I've been surprised that she has flourished since moving in.

Income is as in my first post and the approximate amount from house sale £200k.

Yes the full council assessment has been done although might have to do it again later on as she has moved to a new authority. She is self-funded currently.

ellahenderson

buy some property and rent it out

PasturesNew

You don't need to keep 12 months' money instantly accessible as there'll be her usual income coming in, so you just need to keep a year's top ups available. My mum hardly spends any money as there's nothing much to pay for (haircuts etc) ... and if we think she needs anything else we buy it for her on my POA card.

She'll have flourished due to all the biscuits/cake/tea and constant companionship in the home.... you don't get that living alone!

I hope she fares well and it sounds like she's a long life ahead of her still.

We find Nationwide accounts good for being able to move money around accounts online easily. Some banks are a nightmare to deal with (I'd avoid Barclays).