Just as figures were being released by the ONS showing that Britons are living longer, Key Retirement Solutions released figures of their own showing that at least half of people over the age of 65 living in the UK aren’t aware of just how expensive it is for long-term care in their old age. Many believe that there is a cap on the cost of long-term care set at £20,000 and with the rising cost of care that is not nearly enough.
Approximately 7 1/2% chose the cap proposed by the Dilnot Report which was set at £35,000. Even that is not nearly enough and the Department of Health suggested that the best cap would be between £50,000 and £60,000. As it currently stands anyone with assets greater than £23,250 in England would be responsible for funding the totality of their own care.
The ONS are showing that people are simply living longer and children born today can be expected to live until the age of 100. Furthermore, those who are reaching retirement age this year are also living longer than never before. Ten percent of men who are turning 65 this year can be expected to reach the age of 100 whilst 14% of women reaching the age of 65 in the current year will probably reach the centennial mark.
Unfortunately, it is being said that people are not taking adequate care of their health in keeping with increased life expectancy which means that a greater number of people can be expected to need long-term care during their golden years. In the end, Dean Mirfin of Key Retirement Solutions states that tens of thousands of people who are retiring will get a nasty shock instead of being able to prepare for long-term care. Perhaps 20,000 of these people will need to liquefy assets and sell their homes in order to fund care in their old age.
