Elderly people pay up to £7,000 a year for home care services
Elderly people are paying up to £7,000 a year for home care services from their local authority after a sharp rise in fees.
Many councils have introduced "stealth" increases for services such as daily care, meals on wheels and transport to day centres. The average price of a meal rose from £3.17 last year to £3.44.
The figures were disclosed in a survey which found that almost half of councils are charging more this year than in 2010-11 for home care services, with average prices rising from £13.05 an hour to £13.40. Fees also vary significantly around the country in a "postcode lottery system" in which some councils, such as Surrey, charge more than £21 an hour for home care.
Source: Daily Telegraph 31/12/11
Commenting on the situation Keith Hargraves, The Equity Release Centre Principal and Long Term Care specialist, says:-
“This is not surprising faced with increasing numbers of people needing care and Local Authority funding constraints. Whilst you should always check you are getting all the help you can from the state before considering equity release, should you want to continue receiving care at home and either want or need more care than you qualify for from your Local Authority, equity release, especially a drawdown lifetime mortgage which sets up a maximum facility and just continue to draw money from it as required can help provide much needed funding, although specialist care fees and equity release advice should be received before proceeding. That’s where we are ideally placed to help as unlike most other equity release specialists we are also specialists in Long Term Care funding. If you would like more advice on this important subject call us.”
To find out more about drawdown lifetime mortgages, click through to drawdown lifetime mortgages.
To find out quickly just how much of a facility you could create to help meet ongoing fees , use our free equity release calculator.
If you do need care and would like to find out more about the rules surrounding care funding you can also visit our website dedicated just to long term care www.adviceoncare.co.uk
For researching and arranging a scheme for you we will charge a fee on completion, usually 1.5% of the amount released or facility arranged, with a minimum of £895.