Families need a plan in place to ensure they don't have a care funding gap

On the back of the prime minster’s announcement today on health and social care reform, Louise Higham, financial planning director at Tilney comments on why families need a financial plan in place to ensure they don’t have a care funding gap:

“An overhaul of social care is long overdue and so it should be welcomed that the government is finally starting to introduce reform to the sector. However, it would be wrong to think that today’s announcement will solve all of the problems that families up and down the country face when it comes to funding care for their loved ones.

“From the prime minister’s statement in the Commons today, it is not clear what the cap of £86,000 on what people will be asked to pay over their lifetime will actually cover. For example, will accommodation costs be included in the cap? Accommodation costs could represent sizeable amounts if not included.

“People could still be left in a very difficult financial position if care costs have not been planned for and, in an worst case scenario, could mean that the family home may ultimately need to be sold in order to pay for care. Families shouldn’t get drawn into a false sense of security that their care needs will be taken care of through the measures announced by the government today and they should therefore get a financial plan in place early on to ensure there isn’t a funding gap.”