Thomas Kenny, health and care expert at the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), comments:
“The Government’s plans to delay the cap on care costs came as a surprise to many. The £72,000 cap was introduced by the Government to prevent people from facing what they refer to as ‘catastrophic care costs’. However, the cap excludes daily living costs and other extras and only covers the amount that the local authority would pay for.
“Research by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries found that for those who are aged 85 today, just 10% of them would be likely to reach the cap at all, and they were likely to spend £140,000 on average before reaching it. The research also highlighted huge regional differences in time it takes to reach the cap.
“For example, costs of care are higher in London so it will actually take less time for someone living there to reach the cap than for someone living in the West Midlands. This means that, when all associated costs are taken into account, a person in the West Midlands could spend on average £53,000 more before reaching the cap and take three years longer than someone in London.*
“The decision to delay to 2020 provides policy makers with an opportunity to look at the care cost figures in a more holistic manner to ensure that the policy delivers on its objectives and ensures a fair system for all.
“In addition, life expectancy has been steadily increasing over the last decade, which is clearly a good thing. However, healthy life expectancy is not keeping pace, so how long a person can expect to live with health or social care needs is continuing to rise. A male in the UK, aged 65, can expect to live a further 17.8 years, and would likely have care needs for 7.4 years. The life expectancy for females aged 65 is a further 20.4 years and they would likely have care needs for 9.2 years. The Government needs to take these changing demographics into account and make sure services are adapted accordingly. The decision to delay the introduction of the care cap gives them the opportunity to do this.”
*London: someone entering residential care aged 85 is expected to reach the cap in around 4 years and spend around £117,000 overall before reaching the cap.
West Midlands: someone entering residential care aged 85 is expected to reach the cap in around 7 years and spend around £170,000 overall before reaching the cap.
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