Articles

Pensioners may have to Sell Homes to Fund Care Services due to Delayed Government Funding

22/07/2015

Pensioners and their families are faced with the possibility of having to sell their homes in order to pay for the cost of their care due to delay in funding from the government.

The government has planned to impose a cap of £72,000 for the cost of care those who are 65 years old and above in England would have to pay. Instead of 2016,the government has delayed the funding’s effective date to April 2020.

The decision to delay the funding was made after councils all throughout the country complained that their social care funding will be significantly deprived of much needed cash if the cap will be imposed next year. Now, councils are also asking the government to channel back £6 billion, the amount that will be saved for delaying the cap until 2020, to social care.

The government has also postponed its plan to increase the cap for assets to permit an elderly to receive help from his council plus the corresponding care home expenses. From the current £23,250, the amount is planned to be increased to £118,000.

The decision to postpone the funding was heavily criticised by charities.

Alzheimer’s Society CEO Jeremy Hughes told the Daily Express last July 28 that the move is going to cause staggering cost that will be shouldered by the elderly, especially those with dementia.

Jane Ashcroft, chief executive of care and housing charity Anchor,said: “A delay until 2020 is outrageous and brings into question the future of care funding.”