Political consensus on care funding is unlikely

With cross-party consensus on long-term care funding looking unlikely, advisers need to consider what reforms would serve their clients' needs.

Consensus at last month’s emergency care conference organised by the government leant towards compulsory charges to fund long-term care. Yet a vast amount of detail remains undecided and, with the Conservatives boycotting the meeting – dubbing it a ‘political ploy’ – cross-party consensus seems remote, even after a spring election.

Faced with these uncertainties, advisers will struggle to offer clients a concrete long-term care plan and need to think hard about what they want from reform.

‘Realistically, most people say: "I want care but I don’t want to pay for it," not "I want to be able to afford care", ’ says Paul Lothian (above), director of Dundee-based Verus Financial Planning.

Lothian is in a dilemma. He thinks people need to take responsibility for their own care rather than rely on contributions from others. As a financial planner, this means starting to think about it early.

‘Planning for care during life is part of retirement planning and it’s not about getting to 75 and deciding to pay now or later,’ he says.

Yet many people who need care will not invest in it, he says. ‘We live in reality. [Some] who should be able to contribute will lead profligate lifestyles and won’t be able to afford care, and it will have to be paid for.’

His solution is to drive down private care costs. ‘State funding is not an option,’ he says. ‘The care home industry is lucrative. There has to be more competition and fair pricing to drive down costs.’