Brits extremely worried about how they will afford care when unable to look after themselves, research shows
Researchers took an in-depth look into the elderly care crisis facing the nation and discovered that a staggering 76 percent of Britons are concerned that they simply won’t have enough money to pay for a place in an assisted living property or a care home when the time comes.
Hartford Care carried out the cross-generational study into the reality of the current care system versus the perception, with one in four (26 percent) adults polled admitting they had no idea how much a care home currently costs.
In fact, Brits think that the average weekly cost for staying in a care home is £891 a week, while the actual cost of funding your own care is an average of £1,160 or, if you require nursing care, £1,410*.
As many as 18 percent have no idea how they will afford later life care, while 12 percent are putting off thinking about it.
In contrast, 49 percent have ZERO savings for later life care, with Brits aged between 45-59 years old (56 percent) and 30-44 years old (54 percent) least likely to have savings put away for later life care.
And when it comes to accessing financial help, a third (30 percent) had no idea what was available, leading to 30 percent thinking they will have to sell their homes in order to pay for any care they might need.
As a result, one in five (22 percent) say they would not be able to leave anything to their children as their inheritance would be spent on later life care, with a further 29 percent believing that possible changes to inheritance tax laws would make it even harder to leave their children a financial legacy.
It’s no surprise that almost two thirds (63 percent) think that the nation is facing an elderly care crisis, with three quarters (86 percent) blaming successive governments for ignoring the plight of OAPs.
Four in ten (43 percent) of the 2,000 adults polled say they are anxious that they will NEVER have enough cash to pay for a place in a care home or assisted living, with a third (33 percent) admitting that the older they get, the more anxious they get. Millennials aged between 30 and 44 are the most worried.
41 percent confess that not being able to afford to live comfortably in older age is one of the biggest worries they have.
Kevin Shaw, CEO at Hartford Care, which commissioned the research said: “The social care sector is a political hot potato, one that successive governments have struggled for decades to address. The lack of public education around finding and funding care has led to a situation which, too often, means life savings are depleted to nothing and families experience extreme stress as they scramble to secure financial support and a place.
“One thing is very clear from our research – there is a desperate need for public information when it comes to securing and funding care for ourselves and our loved ones. We are calling now for better, earlier education to help people plan ahead – crucially, in regards to their financial planning and especially in the wake of the care cap being scrapped - to avoid the surprise and stress that comes with securing a care home place, in urgent circumstances, with no understanding or support of the system that exists. We believe that there is huge opportunity to transform social care for the better.”
The research also shed light on differences in generational opinions on the matter, with 46 percent of millennials insisting that their age group will demand much more with care homes than OAPs are currently asking for.
And the nation’s “wish list” of what they want from a care home includes friendly staff (63 percent), an en-suite bathroom (62 percent), a garden or outdoor space (50 percent) and being close to family (45 percent).
Home cooked meals (45 percent), good Wifi (44 percent), comfortable seats (42 percent), on-call staff available 24 hours a day (42 percent) and a good laundry service (40 percent) are also crucial for later life care.