Cost of care for the elderly

In February the UK Government announced major reforms to the way in which the elderly will be required to pay for long-term care in England and Wales.

The proposals been updated slightly in the Budget, but in very general terms they include:

• A cap on costs at £72,000. Currently, no cap exists, and this leaves many facing vast bills, but from 2016 the Government will pay for care costs incurred by individuals over this level.
• A new means test threshold of £118,000 – the point at which the Government will step in to pay a proportion of residential care costs. At the moment the threshold is £23,500.

The position regarding payment of care costs for the elderly in Scotland is different. In Scotland the cost of an elderly person going into a care home is broken down into three parts:

• Nursing care
• Personal care – such as help with making meals, toileting, washing and dressing
• Accommodation – the cost of physically staying in a particular place, including living costs such as food, heating and lighting

Again in general terms, the Scottish Government will contribute to the costs of nursing and personal care, to the tune – at the moment – of £74 per week and £163 per week respectively.

The payment of accommodation costs, as in England and Wales, is dependent on means testing. At the moment the maximum contribution is £565.96 per week, with nursing care, or £487.20 per week without nursing care, and this will only be given to people with assets of less than £15,250.

There is then a sliding scale of contributions made to people with up to £24,750 in assets. If you own more than that, then you have to pay all your accommodation costs.

Paying for long-term care is a complicated area. Give us a call on 0141 248 3456 if you’d like to talk it through.