LONG TERM CARE

Are you concerned about an elderly relative who is getting increasingly frail, and wondering what his or her options are? Perhaps, in the back of your mind, there is a possibility that you or your spouse may require some form of care in the future, however far away that may seem now.

Would you be surprised to know that there are an estimated 500,000 adults in residential care of one type or another in the UK? It is estimated that approximately 70,000 people have to sell their homes each year to pay for care home fees. This is hardly surprising when the average cost of a care home's fees is £21,000 per annum for a residential home and £25,000 per annum for a nursing home per year. Furthermore, fees are currently rising by between 7% and 8% per year. (Able Community Care www.uk-care.com).

There is some good news! At present although one in five people over the age of 70 receive some form of care, this is provided mainly in their own homes. Of these around another one in five require continuous care which is mainly in a residential home or nursing home. If you dread the thought of spending your final years in a nursing home, therefore, the good news is that this currently only applies to 4% (ie one in 25) of the population over the age of 70.

We are experienced in assisting clients finance their care fees, either in preparation for possible care needs in the future, or where fees are required to be paid immediately.

All long term care advice and products became regulated by the Financial Services Authority on 31 October 2004. That date is important because all advisers at that time who were advising on this were given two years, ie until 31 October 2006, to pass an appropriate long term care examination or cease carrying out such activities.

One of our advisers, Peter Kingston, specialises in advising on funding for long term care and both he and Arthur Childs, our managing director, have passed the Chartered Insurance Institute's Long Term Care Insurance examination (CF8) and so are able to continue to provide advice in this important area.

We believe that financing for long term care should not be considered in isolation but that it should be part of a person's overall estate planning. Some of the decisions made for long term care will also reduce the inheritance tax burden for a person's beneficiaries.

Further Information

We have completely revised the sections of our website dealing with long term care and would encourage anyone interested in obtaining further background information to have a look at this. The website information is in three sections and covers the background to long term care and what assistance is available, some of the financial issues surrounding long term care, and an overview of some of the main financial planning solutions that can be used when seeking to finance long term care. There are also links to the websites of more than 15 organisations that can provide further information on this topic.

If you would like to receive advice on financial long term care, either for yourself or a relation, please ask your usual Arch adviser in the first instance or telephone Peter Kingston on 0845 3700 661 or peter.kingston@arch-fp.co.uk.

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Arch Financial Planning Limited, Arch House, Collins Court, 39 High Street, Cranleigh, Surrey GU6 8AS
Tel: 0845 3700 661, Fax: 0845 3700 662

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