Immediate Annuity for Care Home Costs

TheGoldfish

Thank you for all the comments. Really appreciated.

My mum had a Power of Attorney written up years ago although not put in place. I phoned the solicitor last Thursday to make an appointment for her to see my mum the next day to activate it. Unfortunately she was taken into hospital the next day.

With regards to inheritance I am the sole beneficiary of her will, being an only child. Yes, she said she alway hoped I would inherit her house. I am financially secure and am not relying on it at all. I have tried to make it clear to mum that her safety and happiness are so much more important.

I did email the care home near me for an idea of costs and for a brochure. They did phone me and recommended someone who specialises in care funding

http://www.nicktruss.co.uk

The home I had in mind is the Beeches in Brentwood. It looks amazing and is a purpose built home but staffing levels are also so important.

https://www.signature-care-homes.co.uk/communities/the-beeches-in-brentwood

TheGoldfish

jaybeetoo wrote: »

An annuity isn’t guaranteed to keep pace with care home fees for the rest of her life. From my experience, care homes increase their fees above the rate of inflation.

I guessed that but was hoping from what I've seen that mum would either still have a fairly reasonable amount of money left over or be able to build up savings from an unutilised pension. No household bills.

TheGoldfish

xylophone wrote: »

My relative's relative lived alone until the age of 91 but then had six years in retirement home/care home/nursing home - fees increased annually and she ended up paying around £65,000 + a year.

https://www.payingforcare.org/buy-a-care-annuity/

Wow. That is a lot. Did she have specific care requirements? Or it must have been an absolutely amazing play

lisyloo

jaybeetoo wrote: »

An annuity isn’t guaranteed to keep pace with care home fees for the rest of her life. From my experience, care homes increase their fees above the rate of inflation.

Looked into it recently and you can choose what level of increase you want.
If after a number of years it’s insufficient e.g. fees increased above your forecast increase, then you need a top-up annuity.

It does indeed mean a single annuity does not provide a guarantee.
This was a real issue for us as we could not afford the future annuities.

lisyloo

TheGoldfish wrote: »

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The home I had in mind is the Beeches in Brentwood. It looks amazing and is a purpose built home but staffing levels are also so important.

Purpose built places are really good in comparison.
For example they have room for carers to walk alongside clients in the corridors.

We have visited plenty of converted houses in Bristol which had windy corridors, stairs etc.

lisyloo

TheGoldfish wrote: »

Wow. That is a lot. Did she have specific care requirements? Or it must have been an absolutely amazing play

We pay £925 per week residential which is fairly cheap for Bristol/south glos which is £48k per annum (nursing covered by funded nursing care).
Don’t forget that someone will always have state pension/pension credit and usually attendance allowance.
So our net is £33k and that’s just after state benefits without private income.

It is more expensive in the South East though and the best places are more expensive, but some are amazing.
It sounds like the OP has found a good place.

Goldfish do check if the fee quoted is just residential or includes nursing.
She may qualify for funded nursing care which is £158.16 as well as higher rate attendance allowance.
This means the nursing element is funded by the NHS.

If they are residential only then I’d be concerned as she may need nursing care and end of life care in future.
My MILs home has a nurse there 24/7, it does mean they can test for urine infections, check vital signs, and know when a doctor is required. They can also administer morphine injections which means the client can stay in their tranquil and familiar environment during end of life care.
My FIL was given end of life care over last Easter (long bank holiday weekend). The doctor prescribed several forms of morphine beforehand (there is an oral form) and could then leave it in the hands of the nurses. This may be many years away for this lady but worth considering the future as needs only increase.
My MiL has been in nursing care fo 2 years (she was borderline initially) but I can certainly see the value of 24/7 nursing care because they can pick up and treat infections very quickly when the nurses are in situ.

xylophone

Wow. That is a lot. Did she have specific care requirements? Or it must have been an absolutely amazing play

She started off in a charming residential home ( fees around £50,000 as I recall) but her needs increased within a year to "care home" level ( to £60,000 +) and then to nursing home level (£65,000 +) - at this point however she did qualify for the nursing care component. She also qualified for the higher level of AA when she started to need day and night care (around age 92).

All three places were very clean and comfortable with en suite, good food etc) but the level of fees reflects the location of the premises (only a few miles from central London).