Mrs Roberts would not qualify for full State help as she has assets above the means test upper thres...
Mrs Roberts would not qualify for full State help as she has assets above the means test upper threshold of £19,500. But she does have a number of options.
The first would be to sell her property at the time care is required, invest the capital and use the interest for care fees or erode the capital to pay care fees. At today's interest rate this would yield insufficient income to pay for her care, and a long stay in a care home could significantly reduce her assets.
Another option would be to release equity from her property to pre-fund for future care if she wants to keep her savings. However, this is an expensive way of funding care.
Alternatively, she could do nothing until care is needed at which time sell her property and fund care through an immediate care (Priority Care) policy. This is a very useful method but is potentially the most expensive, and should therefore only be used where there is no option to pre-fund.
Investing now in a future care policy is the least expensive option and would pay for care whether needed earlier or later in life and would not be susceptible to the uncertainties of the stock market. A lump sum, a regular premium, or a combination of both may fund it. It is essential to have the benefits indexed linked and she has the option to have the premium guaranteed at its starting level.
