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Much heated debate by 3 main parties over how people should fund their care (if needed) in their old age.
Clearly a difficult subject and one which, ideally, at least both main parties should agree on so that the parameters won’t be changed over the years as governments change; people will know where they stand (if they can
)and can plan a long-term savings/insurance strategy.
So, forumites any recommendations / ideas?
Will it simply be another level of wage deduction (after PAYE & NI)?
Should the state have the right to force the elderly to dispose of assets (e.g. house) over a certain amount to pay for your care?
If so, what about people who’ve (for noble or ignoble reasons) never worked or saved? Should they get 100% entitlement to state care when the frugal/cautious get penalised?
I don’t know the answers, but cross-party agreement is surely a pre-requisite. Can our dumbo politicians grasp that?I don’t understand how Scotland can afford to pay for the care of it’s elderly when, in England we can’t. Politicians must surely realise just how many voters are over 60 now. When I was younger I just assumed that the state would look after me in old age [which I am rapidly hurtling towards]. I feel angry that I have worked hard over the years to buy a house that my children could one day inherit. Not only that but we are having to work longer before we get a pension; as it gets nearer they move it further away from me….I just hope that I can have a bus pass when I’m sixty so that I can go shopping on the bus, although they’ll probably move it further to 65 in a couple of years. I see so many people around me on benefits and yet I seem to have to pay for everything, and I’ll probably have to work forever the way things are going. If I was a lot younger I would probably start to plan for my old age, but, I’m nearly there and all these things seem to have been sprung upon me without much warning. Sorry to whinge but seemed a good opportunity to do so.
I know how you feel Moehat.
There’s an 87 year old lady friend of my father who has recently had to go into care. Widowed, her husband was in the RAF in WW2, she worked as a nurse until her retirement and didn’t spend her dos on fancy holidays or the like . Now she’s having to sell her house to pay for her care and is sharing the care home with some who, for a number of reasons, don’t pay a cent. She wishes now she’d blown her money on the good life when she was younger.Scotland only pays for resedential care if the elderly person has no more than £22,000 in assets, bank balances etc. My mother is in the situation where her savings fluctuate around that region from month to month and keeping track of the balances and our exact contribution to her care bill is a nightmare.
I’d like to see the claimants credit and debit account with the tax man / Social security / UK etc during their lifetime taken into consideration, if one is x amount in credit their care is paid through that credit to a given point.
On the other hand anyone in debit to the country, dole recipients etc, lead swingers, etc will have to fund their own care up to another given point .
I’ve never been on the dole, the biggest cheque I’ve ever written was to the taxman, I’ve employed others since the 1960s and up to 60 folk at one time or another and paid them way above average wages on which they too paid taxes, I’ve never been a burden on the National Health bar three cartlidge operations (too much sport) so I figure I’m WELL in credit with UK Ltd and would seriously resent having to sell our house to pay for my care …after all I must be so far in credit I’m due some debit!!
Anyone approaching retirement would be well-advised to gradually transfer their assets to family members.
Ken, transfering assets to a faimily member is a very dangerous activity indeed, as it can have enormous tax implications, for both the donor and the person to who the ‘gift’ is transferred
To the best of my knowledge a family member can transfer £3000 pounds to a relative(s) per year without tax implications. Any amount over this can be transfered as long as the donor lives for a futher 7 years (I believe that there are moves to increase this period to 14 years). Should the donor die within this 7 years, the total transfer will be counted as part of the deceased estate and will tax implications.Another thing to be very wary of is selling your valuables (house, jewellry etc) to family at a knock down price, especially if you retain some use of the assett transfered (a common example is selling your house cheap to chldren but continueing to live there, eiher rent free or at a knock down rental value). If rent is then paid to the children at current market rate, the chilren would be subject to income tax. If no rent is recieved it is considered o be a
‘gift with reservation’
. I think the tax law came in during 1999. It basically states that when a person dies, any gift with reservation will be counted as pert of the deseased estate (despite ownership) and as such will still be considered as pert of that persons estate upon death and will be considered for inheritance tax purposes. Naturally, any increase in the value of the assett during that time will be considered as a capital gain by the person that recieved the gift and as such will be taxed accordingly.
Away from tax, another thing to be carefull of is transfering assests away from a person, with the specific reason of avoiding paying nursing home/care fees. A deliberate act such as this (and it is the responsibility of the authority to prove it was deliberate) is called deprivation of assetts, and can lead to major problems!!!! There is no defined time limit on what can be can be called deprivation of assets, although it is also generally considered to be 7 years. If care is needed within this period, claims can be made on the assett which was transfered (ie on the new ‘owner’) or the asset can be ‘tagged’ so that any bill you run up with the local authority can be claimed back when the property is sold.
Hope this helps….. be carefull out there, its a jungle!!!
)and can plan a long-term savings/insurance strategy.
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