12/06/06 - Older People Failing to Seek Advice on Care Fees
70,000 homes are sold each year to pay for care yet
only 3,162 applications were made for Care Fee Payment plans last year.
Which in turn means that under 5% of those selling their homes to pay
for care sought professional long term care funding advice.
Of the others receiving no professional advice, many will run out of
money as their capital is depleted through paying high care home fees.
NHFA believes the reason for this is the lack of awareness that this
essential specialist advice is available. Without it many more older
people will fall into the shortfall poverty gap and become a financial
burden on their relatives who will be forced to find care home top-up
fees.
Out of 165,587 registered financial advisers in the UK only around 1286
3 have passed the CF8 examination, which allows them to give advice
on funding longterm care. This is less than 1% of the UK advisers. Financial
Advisers have until October 2006 to pass CF8 if they wish to continue
advising on long term care funding.
Philip Spiers, Managing Director of NHFA, who account for around 50%
of the Care Plan applications made, says “NHFA, requires this qualification
as a prerequisite of being a NHFA Care Fees Adviser therefore 100% of
our Care Fees Advisers have it. Our concern is that with so few advisers
taking the exam older people will not receive appropriate advice. Unless
they find organisations like us they could, like so many, end up in
the precarious situation of running out of money.”
No Government can afford to pick up the full longterm care bill and
people are always going to want a care home that’s more expensive than
the Local Authority is prepared to pay for so the issue of using up
capital will not go away unless people begin to seek advice.
NHFA advice and information is available to all regardless of means
and combines financial advice with the complexities of local authority
charging and assessment procedures, health authority responsibilities,
DWP benefits and legal matters. The aim of the NHFA is to enable older
people meet the cost of their chosen care for life whilst also seeking
to preserve their original capital, independence, dignity and right
of choice.
Copies of the NHFA Long Term Care Guide and detailed LTC information
sheets can be obtained from the NHFA Care Advice Line 0800 99 88 33,
or website www.nhfa.co.uk
Source : NHFA
