Paying for a care home can be an expensive business and unless you, or the person you are responsible for, has done some prior care fee planning then you will need to ensure that you make the best possible use of any available cash, investments and assets like property in order to help towards paying care home fees and any other expenses.
Once a full financial assessment has been carried out you will find out if the person needing care is going to be funded by the State or alternatively a “self-funder”. Normally, if you have wealth in excess of £23,500 you will be a self-funder until you only have this amount of wealth left. Occasionally the NHS will contribute a percentage towards the care costs but this is based on a separate clinical assessment of care needs and individual circumstances.
There are many ways in which you can structure someone’s financial affairs to enable care costs to be met. This may involve decisions on property regarding renting, selling or equity release. It could involve buying an immediate needs annuity or turning existing investments that we’re designed for growth to be mandated to provide income. Or it might be something as simple as getting a better interest rate on cash. It all depends on the individual circumstances of the person needing care and their anticipated and unanticipated financial requirements.
We would always recommend that independent financial advice rather than restricted advice is sought when you are trying to work out how you should be paying for care home fees. Simpson Financial Services Limited are Independent Financial Advisers (IFA)s based in the UK and have been providing financial planning and advice to people as they consider their later life financial requirements of care needs which may involve paying care home fees. We also work with family or legal representatives as to how best fund the care home fees and any other costs and their expert IFA in this area of financial advice is Edwina Hudson
Edwina Hudson has over 20 years experience in regulated financial planning. She holds the Chartered Insurance Institute's Diploma in Financial Planning and the Chartered Insurance Institute's Certificate in Mortgage Advice, Equity Release and Long Term Care. If you would like to speak to Edwina in confidence about your own circumstances then please call us on 0845 0179 578 or complete the form opposite and we will arrange a prompt call back.
Edwina is also a Member of the Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA) who are a non profit organisation founded in 2008. Their aim is to ensure that people are better informed about the financial issues of later life and can find a fully accredited adviser quickly and easily. They also make sure that all financial advisers who they have accredited have met a strict criteria of competence and have proved they have specialist skills, experience and knowledge in this financial sector.
