Live in Care Funding, Elderly Care at Home Funding & Costs

It is worth while looking around for sources of care funding. Let’s face it, care at home can be expensive, but there are places that help with the financial means to stay independent. It does depend upon why the care is needed, financial means, or the funding available in a certain area.

The Local Authority will provide help with care fees – but not to everyone. If you or a loved one feel or have been told you will need long term care and are wondering how to pay for it, turn first to the local authority to see if there is any financial support available.

There are also other methods of public funding available for care and benefit entitlements that should be explored.

But if you or a loved one doesn’t qualify for public funding and has to pay for care privately, or simply needs a top up on those benefits, we suggest you speak with a Financial Advisor or Solicitor who has the appropriate care fees financial knowledge and experience.

Finding a Financial Advisor to help with Care Funding

Support 4 homecare now has a database of independent financial advisers many of which are local to your area. They are able to help, support and guide you through all aspects of providing care funding advice.

These experienced and qualified advisers are fully independent; they are able to provide advice for all products and services available and are able to make use of a wider market, rather than be restricted to a limited selection of products and services of one or two providers.

The advisers will look at your state benefit entitlement; and will be also able to advise you if you are eligible for any other state support.

They can provide you with all the information that you need to be able to make an informed decision, regarding any help with care funding and they will be able to assist you in minimising the impact of long term care costs.

To help you gain a little insight into the type of services that are available we have briefly outlined them below.

What is a pension Annuity?

A pension Annuity converts the funds that have built up in your pension scheme into a regular income, this is payable for the duration of your life and is subject to tax.

Care fees payment plan

A care fees payment plan can also be referred to as an Immediate Care Plan (ICPs) or Immediate Annuities. They are designed to cover all or part of the cost of a persons care fees. They are purchased by a lump sum and this amount can vary individually depending on your age, health and gender.

Once an immediate care plan is in place it can provide peace of mind and help to retain some financial ownership, dignity and in some instances choice of care establishment.

This immediate care plan can be transferred between care homes and if your care needs were to change in the future, you can add to your existing payment plan to help cover any additional fees that are incurred.

This can offer you peace of mind as it helps to limit the amount of resources that you need place in reserve, enabling you to fund the care that you may require. This in turn can help you to protect your remaining capital. You can also plan for rises in care fees by opting for a regular annual increase, which would help to keep up with the yearly increases in care fees.

Care Fee payment plans can fluctuate considerably in cost from one provider to another. It is therefore best practice to research the market as a whole, which a specialist adviser can do for you. They will discuss any requirements that you may have and if any alternatives may be of use or better suited to your situation. They will research the options and present the advantages and disadvantages of each of these enabling you to make an informed decision.

Investing For Income

One of the big advantages of investing for income is that you are able to retain ownership of all of your capital this enables you to pay any care fees from your existing assets.

If however you do choose to invest your capital to generate an income to pay for care, your investment portfolio will need careful structuring. This should take into account your attitude to risk and your aims for the future. A specialist adviser can help you to plan your portfolio to give you the best chance of maximizing any returns needed in order to generate the level of income that will be required. Careful consideration should be given to the investment to help avoid any unpredictability or risk.

Other options

There may be other options that you can explore such as equity release, perhaps letting a property or an interest free loan from your Local Authority. You may even have sufficient cash savings to enable you to pay for any care that is required, or you may be able to ask for support from your family and friends.

It is important to consider your options, and think and about the level of income that you will require to maintain a standard of living.

It is advisable to contact your existing pension provider, they will be able to issue you with an annuity quote based on your funds and choice of options. You may wish to obtain quotes on more than one occasion so that you are able to compare the available income and will take into account any changes in your circumstances.

Remember that you do not have to take your annuity with the company that provides your pension, you can shop around to get the best income possible. It is important to disclose any.