Over-60s face ‘unpleasant surprise’ with care home bills, campaigners warn

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And almost half (41 percent) do not think they will be forking out for their partner, a survey has found. Despite rising demand and average care home bills of between £600-800 a week, more than one in four does not know how he or she will fund being looked after.

Campaigners are cautioning the over-60s that they face an unpleasant surprise. Anyone with assets above £23,000 has to pay their care costs.

And even when the new £86,000 cap on nursing home fees is introduced in 2023, people will still have to fund their everyday living expenses. A place in a home costs between £31,000 and £41,600 a year, said health think-tank The King’s Fund.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “Most of us are going to have to pay for our own social care and it doesn’t come cheap.

“So this survey confirms that many are in for a big shock.

“Even if people understood they may need to pay a substantial sum on social care, most have no viable means of getting the money together.”

The study by Canada Life found that for those over-60s who have thought about how they may pay for nursing, 27 percent would use their state pension.

A quarter say they would rely on cash savings and 18 percent would use their private pension. Of the 2,000 adults surveyed, just 14 percent said selling their properties would be an option.

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