The rising financial costs of getting Dementia

Jamiesmum

Dementia is a complex illness that will (statistics say) effect 1 in 3 of us by 2050.

There are specialist care homes out there that focus only on dementia clients.

I know when I am old, if I ever got effected by the illness, I want to be with people/carers who understand what is happening and not be confused in my home wondering where I am and (unfortunately) who these strangers are coming in too my house every day - family included!

People with far gone dementia will remember feelings not faces, so your dear old niece coming in too prepare lunch will mean nothing at all except worry and fear if you ever fell ill.

I know personally of someone currently aged 46 suffering from Dementia, and someone the grand age of 103.

My retirement money will be much enjoyed, and if I fall ill, I'll have good care until my time comes + my son will get what ever is left when I'm gone. I hope more that he succeeds in life and makes his own fortune and never needs to rely on an inheritance.

Inheritance is such a bitter state of affairs. People feel they deserve what they have never earned. Seen the bitter side of this so recently with a ridiculously huge amount of money from Great Grans estate.

Lynplatinum

Hello everyone

Mojisola I can see how you have roughly calculated things but please, please, please allow for inflation! An elderly friend of mine thought she could manage on the monies she had from a small pension but she did not allow for inflation and now, some 10 years later, she is left with only pence at the end of each month. Her kids are working but have reasons why they cant help out much. Those of us who know her well and, to be fair, her ex - help out by sharing BOGOFs and windfalls with her. I will be offering her a free holiday in Cornwall - now that I have moved away.

Re is this an issue for 'old style thread' folks - yes it is. Years ago, people with this kind of illness stayed with families - now they dont. How we can help and be aware of the newer laws and where to get help are valid on this board. In an emotional situation, where we have to make difficult decisions for loved ones, we may not be accurately listening to officials - who have a vested interest in getting demensia care payed for privately - and so we may render ourselves liable for fees we were not prepared for.

Re leaving a legacy. Right now I need to keep my small nest egg 'in case' something goes wrong with my house etc (because I would never get a loan on my income). My little house, when sold, will not raise that much. However, I am watching my kids work dreadfully hard, having to pay a stupid amount of rent (they are in their 30s) and just managing. I would like to think that, when I pass, I can leave something to ease their lives (because you cant take it with you ). It is not greed or expectation on their part - it is my wish to help them - not to give money to the greedy big companies that now run most OAP homes. Another reason this discussion belongs on 'Old Style' alongside NBI.

Some posters on here sound a bit confrontational - unless anyone is qualified they might like to soften their approach with phrases like ' as I understand it' or 'I have always been told'. Great advice to contact experts like Age UK - dont know if Citizens Advice would be any help too???
Nite All

t14cy_t

our dear friends mother has the same wicked disease. he is an only child who now has dad living with him. the family home was recently sold to pay for mothers care home costs. luckily my friend is savvy and has bought two homes by the sea with mothers money in her name and the rental pays for her care, and the prices of the houses slowly rise. therefore protecting my friends eventual inheritance. x

moneyistooshorttomention

Very good point too that none of us know exactly how long we might live for. The mere thought of living to around 100:eek::eek::eek: imo.

I know I'm planning on the basis of an expectation of living to 85 - no shorter/no longer. If it were only a few years - then I wouldnt be doing so much renovation work on my house for the sake of just that. Longer than that - doesnt bear thinking about personally imo.

There's the whole question (not just re possible care home aspect) of it tends - for many people but not all of us - to get more expensive to live as one gets older. Quite apart from direct healthcare (ie covering any medical costs the NHS refuses to). I can see someone I know of for instance still living there in their home and can get a pretty good idea of how the costs are piling up:

- paying someone to do their gardening
- paying someone to do their housework
- paying someone to clean their windows
- paying for taxis a distance they can no longer walk

and that has been added to by someone (dont know if its them or us paying for it) covering the cost of carers coming in regularly now on a several-times-daily basis.

That little lot must be costing quite a bit one way and another and life must be a lot dearer than for someone like myself doing my own housework/gardening/walking if its walking distance/etc.

It's a matter for consideration now that many people who've reached "Should be Financially Straight age" (ie 50 or so) arent and are still paying mortgages or even rent/got debt/etc and will be coming up in a few years time to the age where doing basic living gets a lot more expensive for those who get health problems.

There will be a noticeable number of people still struggling to get financially straight belatedly AND finding they have the "older life" expenses some people get and struggling to fund both at the same time.

dirty_magic

I thought this thread was going to be about how people with dementia can't manage their finances! When my mom takes my nan shopping she has to sneak stuff out of the trolley when she's not looking because she buys so much stuff that she already has! Still, it gets her out of the house.

I think it's bad how much care homes charge, some of them are ridiculously expensive. If my nan had to go into a home we'd want a decent one, and even with the money from the house it wouldn't fund that many years of care. We're all hoping she doesn't get worse quickly.

tooldle

I don't think the costs are ridiculous.
Care home provide 24/7 care. They also provide all the facilities and security required to care for people with dementia. In my my mums hone, one of the staff is out every day taking residents to medical appointments, dentist, opticians, hospital appointments and visits, shopping for personal necessities etc. Then you have all the governance requirements, building maintenance, catering and admin stuff to deal with. It is a mamooth job.
When my mum was still in her own home, care visits were charged at £17 per hour. These carers were not responsible for anything other than checking mum was up, had taken the correct medication, and had eaten something. All the other costs associated with dementia were down to mum. In comparisson, the care hime is a bargain.

Hard_Up_Hester

On the other hand hubby has a colleague who's mother has never owned her own home and has no savings, her care is totally funded by the council.
The son isn't expected to pay anything towards her care which is good as he is married with 2 young children and he works as a kitchen porter, a very poorly paid job.

Tipsntreats

This thread is about raising awareness to the costs involved. As many of you are finding out. I posted it in OS to warn and prepare people. Certainly NOT to have a moan. I reiterate: When a person goes into care self funding, the relatives are NOT told to choose a council funded home, as the council wont pay over the capped amount, when the persons funds run out.
I am hoping this thread can help people in a position of having a loved one with dementia, make the right financial choices at the start. Can we all agree on that?
Tips

hunters

Its obvious why the thread doesn't belong here as there is so much misinformation contained in the thread. The OP has POA for her uncle therefore she herself presumably attended the meetings and signed the papers that said he would be paying for his care and what would happen should the money run out, all right and proper.

The cost of care is going up across the whole country and if its just support you want then possibly post on one of the many support threads on this board but please don't give out misinformation and set people on the wrong track. There is plenty of help on the Benefits board from experts in their field and if they can't help then they will post the links such as Mojisola has done on this thread.

You are not in a position to help people "make the right financial choice" from your limited experience in your part of the country.

For those people who need to pay for gardeners etc once over retirement age they can claim Attendance Allowance and use it to pay for whatever help they need be it a taxi or cleaning help.

missbiggles1

Tipsntreats wrote: »

This thread is about raising awareness to the costs involved. As many of you are finding out. I posted it in OS to warn and prepare people. Certainly NOT to have a moan. I reiterate: When a person goes into care self funding, the relatives are NOT told to choose a council funded home, as the council wont pay over the capped amount, when the persons funds run out.
I am hoping this thread can help people in a position of having a loved one with dementia, make the right financial choices at the start. Can we all agree on that?
Tips

You said that earlier but other people have refuted it.