In the UK, and across the world, we are living longer. The current ONS life expectancy figures for England and Wales is 79 years (for males) and 83 years for females. For those aged 65 or over, men can expect to live a further 18.6 years and an additional 21 years for women.
Alongside that, the number of people living to 100+ has increased to 15,120, and as the ONS reports:
“The number of centenarians has more than doubled since 2002 (including a doubling of the numbers aged 105 years and over from 300 in 2002, to 640 in 2022).”
Want to calculate your own life expectancy?
Here's the ONS calculator:
Those aged 85+
Given those life expectancies, the average person won't reach the age group most likely to require care services, which is those aged 85+ according to AgeUK.
However, it is this very group that will grow as their numbers are swelled by those about to retire within the next couple of years:
“The population aged 85+…is also projected to rise rapidly, increasing by 8.2% in the next five years and by 62.7% by 2043 (126,000 and 956,000 people respectively).”
These stats come from an AgeUK 2023 report that also stated that:
- 86% of people over 85 in England live with at least one long-term health condition
- 1.6 million people aged 65+ have unmet needs for care and support
There were 11 million people aged over 65 in England in 2023. If 1.6million people have unmet care needs, that's 14.5% of the entire 65+ population.
So, how much does this all cost?
According to the NHS Adult Social Care Activity and Finance Report, England, 2022-23, it's a lot.
“Gross current expenditure is spent on long-term care evenly between the two age groups, 49.6% (£9.1 billion) on clients aged 18-64, and 50.4% (£9.3 billion) on clients 65 and over.”
Expenditure on long term care (residential, nursing and community care) rose by 11.2% from 21-22 to 22-23. In addition, 66% of those aged 65 and over required long term care for more than one year.
Private care and funding
Those of us approaching retirement and/or assessing our estate planning need to consider that the NHS may not be able to provide the level of care we might require. So we need to think about private care provisions - and think about it NOW.
At present, if you have over £23,250 in capital (savings), you have to pay your own fees as a 'self-funder'. Homecare is usually costed by the hour, live-in care by the day (with a minimum residency), and residential care by the month. This threshold figure will inevitably rise over the years.
Cost of private care
Private care costs also inevitably rise as your care needs increase. Whilst initially you may be able to live independently at home with regular care visits, you may need more care such as live-in care or move to a residential care environment.
According to carehome.co.uk:
“If you are paying for your own care, the monthly average cost of residential care is £4,640, while nursing care in a care home costs on average £5,640.
This means residential care for a whole year (52 weeks) costs on average £60,320 and nursing home care costs on average £73,320 a year. Care homes that provide specialist care, such as dementia care, will normally charge a higher fee.”
It's difficult to tell how much government support may exist in the future (the Chancellor of the Exchequer has already scrapped the £86,000 cap on lifetime care costs proposed by the former government).
Build long-term care provision into your estate planning
These figures can look very scary, but the good news is that you can build in provision for long-term care into your estate planning now. Remember this is your money. You do not have to leave a legacy for your children. What you certainly don't want to do is lock down that legacy in a Trust, only to need the money yourself to pay for care and the kids have to bail you out.
To discuss your estate planning provision for your own long-term care or that of a loved one, just contact us for your initial Discovery appointment. We are here to help.