ISA's and Declared Savings

bigfreddiel

Many years from now, (hopefully) when I may need to move into a care home I have heard that any savings held within an ISA are NOT taken ino account as ones savings when you may need to fund your own care as opposed to your local council paying?.

Is that so?

fj

EdInvestor

No. More info on funding for care here:

https://www.hsbcpensions.co.uk/nhfa/pdfs/is6.pdf

Immediate needs annuities are the way to go if you have a good pension.

dunstonh

ISAs are included in the means test. Investment bonds are the product that are not. However, if you take an income from them, then that is considered. Also, if you take an investment bond out for the purpose of getting local authority assistance then they will claw the money back into the means test under deprivation of assets rules.

If care is not known to be needed or not and its likely to be a year or two away at least then an investment bond is fine. It also helps to get the bond written under advice and keep the suitability report as documentation to show the "real" reasons it was taken out (i.e. investing, capital growth, tax efficiency or lower charges etc). That way you have evidence to why you had a bond and not unit trusts or whatever.