How to minimise Social Care costs?

kuepper

I'm in good health fortunately and hope things stay that way for many years but today's announcements have woken me up about future worst case scenarios. Having been a more money-conscious person since retiring I'm getting really worried and depressed that all the scrimping and saving I've been doing in order to leave a decent inheritance (way below the inheritance tax threshold) for my family will have been wasted if I need to rely on social care. I couldn't see where this fitted in the forum but I'm surprised I can't find any advice on MSE about this in relation to how to minimise any future social costs, can anyone point me in the right direction?

Keep_pedalling

It won’t be wasted if it provides you with comfort and security in your most vulnerable years. You have worked hard for that not your children and you should be the priority.

Hopefully you won’t need care but if you do there is not much you can do to minimise costs. Personally we will never put ourselves in a position that leaves us at the mercy of a LA in deciding where we receive care and just as importantly when we get it, so the possibility of self funding is built into our long term financial planning. 

74jax

kuepper said:

I'm in good health fortunately and hope things stay that way for many years but today's announcements have woken me up about future worst case scenarios. Having been a more money-conscious person since retiring I'm getting really worried and depressed that all the scrimping and saving I've been doing in order to leave a decent inheritance (way below the inheritance tax threshold) for my family will have been wasted if I need to rely on social care. I couldn't see where this fitted in the forum but I'm surprised I can't find any advice on MSE about this in relation to how to minimise any future social costs, can anyone point me in the right direction?

Honestly your children will not want you skimping and saving for them. Spend it now, go away with family, treat them to days out. Use it to make memories. Knowing that you will have the last year's of your life in as much comfort as you can. 

My dad gifted is a significant amount of money before he died which we then used to pay for mams care. Social services were soo good and helpful but it would have been so much easier if he had just left it to mam instead of thinking it would be 'eaten up in care cost' so gave it to us.  Who in turn used it anyway for care for mam. 

You children would rather you used that so you are comfortable than skrimp for them. Life is for living.

You won't find it on MSE as really it shouldn't be considered. 

gettingtheresometime

Can I just ask why you've scrimped and save to provide an inheritance? Surely the benefits of that savings should be so that you've got the means to make sure that if you ever get to that position your days are as comfortable as possible.

When did receiving an  inheritance become an automatic right?

comeandgo

I think your family would be horrified to learn you had been scrimping and doing without just to leave them money.  

When my dad died we discovered he had been saving and scrimping and putting his money under the bed.  He had thousands of pounds there.  He loved cars but never owned a new one, i wish he had used this money to buy himself something that would have given him pride and pleasure.

68ComebackSpecial

You can minimise care costs/ maximise inheritance by your family providing the care for you rather than other taxpayers. 

I can sleep easy knowing that both my parents and my MIL (all in their eighties, 2 with health conditions) have sufficient assets to provide them with high quality care in a good care home should they need it. I haven't planned my future expecting to receive an inheritance so anything I do receive would be a bonus.

tooldle

Look at the other side of the equation. If you want to minimise the impact to your own savings and any future inheritance your offspring may receive, who exactly are you expecting to cover your costs? There is no magic money. Effectively you are asking every other tax payer in the country, to step up and cover your costs.
I have a parent in a Care Home. My advice is to use your money, to buy the best care you can afford. If you think residential care may well be on your horizon, give some thought to what would be important to you, and make those thoughts know to your family. Don't put them in the position of having to guess which care setting would be the best for you.

LillythePink

I've told my parents - just leave me enough money to bury you - that's all I would like - the rest is their money to do with as they please.

If they have anything left when they pass away then it's a "bonus" but I'm certainly not expecting them to leave me anything as technicallly I've had it already as they gave money in order to buy a hourse with a wing which is where they live.

My MIL is not spending her money and has the same attitude as the OP - my OH is saying spend it on you (redo your carpets if that's what you want) but she won't - whilst you wouldn't want her to fritter her money away on tat, providing a nice environment for her now is what's important. 

I think the idea of spending the money on them now ie holidays/days out with them to make memories is a wonderful idea.

Whilst everyone would welcome inheritance at the time, it's not an automatic right and I think anyone who begrudges their parents spending their money on themselves whilst they are alive at the expense of inheritance is fundamentally selfish.

Malthusian

Is the money you are spending today on your cost of living (food, utilities, housing including imputed rent if you own your home) being wasted? If not what will have changed when you need care?

comeandgo said:

I think your family would be horrified to learn you had been scrimping and doing without just to leave them money.  

When my dad died we discovered he had been saving and scrimping and putting his money under the bed.  He had thousands of pounds there.  He loved cars but never owned a new one, i wish he had used this money to buy himself something that would have given him pride and pleasure.

I don't think you need to feel guilty on his account. Lots of people who love cars aren't interested in new ones. Especially elderly people who may not be as capable behind a wheel as they used to be. Stuffing cash under the bed indicates confusion - if your aim was to leave it to your children you would at least secure it in the bank.

It is quite common for people in later life to "scrimp and save" because they have become set in their ways and will not countenance spending money on anything they aren't already spending it on. Decreasing financial capability may also instill an irrational fear of running out of money. It isn't their heirs' fault or something that can be changed without their buy-in.

Keep_pedalling

Malthusian said:

Is the money you are spending today on your cost of living (food, utilities, housing including imputed rent if you own your home) being wasted? If not what will have changed when you need care?

comeandgo said:

I think your family would be horrified to learn you had been scrimping and doing without just to leave them money.  

When my dad died we discovered he had been saving and scrimping and putting his money under the bed.  He had thousands of pounds there.  He loved cars but never owned a new one, i wish he had used this money to buy himself something that would have given him pride and pleasure.

It is quite common for people in later life to "scrimp and save" because they have become set in their ways and will not countenance spending money on anything they aren't already spending it on. Decreasing financial capability may also instill an irrational fear of running out of money. It isn't their heirs' fault or something that can be changed without their buy-in.

I think far to many people get in the habit of accumulating then fail to switch to running it down in their later years. 

We are currently greatly enjoying the run down phase.

SusieT

I have just spoken to my father about this. He is very worried about having to sell the house if he has to go into care, and not being able to leave "us" an inheritance. I went through the current details last night and and called him back just now, he is very happy to learn that there will be a cap on the maximum payable (before he thought it was a year rather than a lifetime!!), and that after that he would only have to pay for his board. Next panic was that it will be more than the pension, so we have decided that at am apprpriate time he will gift us % shares in the house, we can get an x% mortgage after calculating the probable maximum costs, put it in a bank account to only be used to repay itself or just interest and his care/board costs so there will be no deprivation of assets as we will get nothing at all from it personally. That will be better with regards to interest than equity release, and will give us the flexibility to pay a carer to be there part time, or nights, or for a couple of hours twice a day - whatever is needed. He can stay in his house as the ground floor has a bathroom and can easily be converted to have a living room that also has a bed. I need to talk to my siblings in more detail to make sure that they agree, but we have mentioned it in very vague terms previously and were in agreement then so I do not see much changing there. He is delighted that there will be a small amount left for us to inherit, and I am fairly sure that we will all be happy that while at home he will have his pension to be independant and continue to pay his own bills and order shopping etc, while having a carer for whatever time(s) needed. If he later has to go into a care home there will be money to pay for it and the house will not need to be sold. 
The main thing for all of us has always been that he is not worried about scrimping and that he feels able to treat himself, after all he has worked damned hard for it, and having now put his mind at rest about there being "plenty" of money afterwards for us (probably a few thousand each) he is now going to forget about it all and get on with living the way he wants to. 
With him being in the very fortunate position of having the house paid for and it being suitable for ground floor living, plus him loving his garden, I would think by the time he would need to go into a care home he would not be much longer with us, so the house would hopefully not need to be sold while he is alive to see it. We will need to run it all past a solicitor/accountant first but it works at the moment on paper.