Worrying about how you will pay for care in your later years won’t solve the problem. What you need to do is have a better understanding of elderly care finance and the help available to you. But of course, this will change over the coming years but there will also be help and support available.
Assets
What affects the level of financial help towards care costs depends on the level of assets you have. An asset is something positive such as owning your own home or a significant sum in your savings, ISAs, stocks and shares and so on.
If you have significant assets, you are expected to contribute to the cost of your care. How much you can have in savings, for example, before it affects how much financial help you get will change and can vary in England, Wales and Scotland.
Will I have to sell my home?
Many people worry that the cost of care will mean that they have to sell their home. No one can force you to do this and if you need care in the home, such as a live-in carer, you may be able to claim financial help towards part or all of this cost.
What about medical care?
There is a difference between the level and type of care that people need. For people with acute medical needs, the NHS isresponsible for funding their continuing care costs. Healthcare can be provided at home, in a nursing home or in a hospital, for example. You will need to be assessed to determine if you are eligible for this financial help.
Help with care costs at home
Some people want to stay in their own home for as long as possible, a better alternative for them than being in a rest home or moving. Recognising that you need help and support to do this, you may be able to get help from your local authority in terms of funding.
As well as financial support, you may be able to loan equipment for your local authority to make living in your own home manageable. Help covering the costs of home carers is also a possibility.
This is means tested and so you may find that you have to contribute towards the cost of carers and other support.
Self-funding care costs
Even with help from the localauthority and other means, you may find that there is a shortfall in what you are being offered and the actual cost of the care services being provided. You will have to make up this shortfall from your own means, such as from the benefitsyou receive, from savings and so on.
Find out more about elderly care finance
It is important to find out more and to make sure that you claim the financial help to which you are entitled to. Find out more here.
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