Potentially, another national insurance tax increase to pay for social care

The terminally lazy need to get off benefits, get jobs, and save into pensions to fund their own retirements 🤷‍♀️ Obviously, there will always be people who can’t work but there’s plenty of people who can but choose not to. I’ve got epilepsy and have regular seizures but I hold down a senior, full time, well paid job in the public sector. I feel quite angry that other people are just bone idle and won’t work, they seem to expect that they should be handed everything on a plate.

I'm not in favour of raising this through NI as it's not a universal tax, those in work have enough to pay. I do feel sorry for people who have a prolonged illness such as dementia as nursing care can easily consume nearly all the inter-generational wealth in these cases.

I was lucky with my parents, I was able to provide full-time care for each of them in turn as well as having my MIL come to live with us. It was necessary for me to take early retirement in my mid-fifties to look after them all and the majority of people just aren't in a position financially to do this or willing to do this. In addition, many families are split and blended which makes this inter-generational style of care even more unlikely going forward. We need a solution.

Hardly any estates are taxed atall though as allowances are generous. I’d be interested to see the math tbh.

Surely it would be more similar to health insurance? And even then health insurance usually has a cut-off (except sometimes for cancer), whereas this type of social care would go on paying out until the insured's death, wouldn't it? Seems to me the costs to the insurer would be much higher than in either car or health insurance, but I'm not in the industry so maybe someone who knows more could comment.

@Jabtastic and I agree with that too - there are some very crafty people around getting by on playing the system - and do a great diiservice to those in genuine need

I agree with it - but it needs to be totally ringfenced and communicated well

Most country's in Europe that have good benefits and good social aspects have taxation more like 38% and the idea that wages though are much higher isn't strictly true- when we lived in Copenhagen wages were 'slightly' higher , maybe around 15% higher but tax was double. The big differences though were in what you got - no NI As such , although a separate kind of 'cover' for unemployment/illness etc, very low childcare costs indeed, no council tax , much better state pensions, far far more social housing of good quality and all sizes - better house prices in general including private rents, especially outside of Copenhagen - it's a totally different mindset - I think younger people here would 'get it' -the problem would be the kind of older people who don't need childcare, aren't paying NI, don't give a shit about making it easier on the younger members of their family, own homes outright and have big pensions already - you can just imagine the Daily Mail and Express front pages.

Already happens. It's called 'deferred payment'.

This is the problem. The rich and the poor avoid paying for anything. Those in the middle are basically carrying the load for the whole country. I think thats why people are tired and resentful now.

We all need to pay more but it really does mean all, not just the middle. There is a huge cohort of people who essentially live off the system. I do resent it because my work brings me into contact with people surviving on benefits because of their 'illnesses'. I typically have worse health conditions than them, it's insane.

The rich of course also need to pay more but not in a petty, spiteful way. We need to celebrate success more in this country. We need to generate wealth so we have taxes to fund care.

Dear Rachael has taxed inheritance more. Family Farms and businesses ... bloody stupid in my opinion. Definitely not promoting growth ... of food or business.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jan/09/retailers-warn-of-higher-prices-in-2025-and-urge-ministers-to-ease-tax-burden

Honestly, as much as it pains me to say it, Theresa May's plan back in 2017 was pretty spot on but it was eviscerated in the press and called "the Dementia Tax" because some folk were worried that they might not inherit their parents' home.

I think you'd really test social contract imposing yet more tax on labour to support predominantly retirees.

Or reform income tax to the same rate irrespective of whether its a pension or employment income.

My company (a charity) will now have an unforseen NI bill of an extra £1 million to find. So pay freezes, recruitment freezes etc. As a charity it is not for profit so doesn't have large reserves to fall back on. They are not alone in this.
Don't blame the businesses for having to adapt to something Labour have forced on them

You must have missed all the stories in the news forecasting price rises.....

I think an adult social care loan scheme is needed repayable on death from the estate.

I'm not seeing that in my industry, although perhaps it's mainly companies that are temporarily throwing their toys out of the pram at the idea of paying a wage people can actually live on.

Prices seem lower to me than they were under the Tories, it's not £7 for Lurpak any more for a start. Not saying that's down to Labour doing anything amazing, but it certainly doesn't seem to be as bad as it was.

That’s correct but it does still filter through to employees

I’m not sure why people are already talking about more tax rises though the last lot was it according to Reeves

This.

The whole industry needs to come under some scrutiny and be held accountable for where the public funds it's getting now are actually going, and why the standard of care generally is so woeful.
I left social care a few years ago, I got fed up of subsidising employers by way of working for free, providing my own training, equipment and resources and working in dangerous situations and constantly short staffed. And getting paid minimum wage for it.

Why are companies allowed profit while the basics that are being paid for by public funding aren't being met?

Throwing money at the industry, however it's raised, will not improve anything other than profit margins without better regulation.

I'd rather see VAT go up ... everybody pays then, not just some workers or employers (which just been hammered with NI changes)

Only on paper. In reality it has = pay freezes, recruitment freezes, higher prices etc. Which is exactly what Labour were told would happen.

Well something needs to be done..
I'd prefer it done this way than all the bloody surprise bills you get when you are elderly or caring for an elderly relative.
I'm in this situation with my mum at the moment. You are expected to suddenly find thousands...
A struggle for us and we aren't destitute..
I can only imagine what it's like for people who struggle financially.
There should be free access to this but even if you are on benefits etc you are still expected to fund all sorts personally it seems.. or you or your relative do not receive adequate care!
I would happily pay extra tax throughout my life to fund social care.
I work for the NHS and the biggest issue is the impact that underfunded social care has on NHS services, particularly emergency services and hospitals. The NHS has to treat people when they become medical emergencies.. but there's many people who would not need that treatment if they had had proper social care.
The elderly clogging up hospital beds because they have nowhere safe or that meets their needs, to be discharged to, for example.
So you can wang on about 'young working people footing the bill' all you want, but realise this is an issue that effects young working people because our health service is currently baring the burden... so when a young person needs to use it they won't be able to, due to the elderly using all the ambulancence and beds etc etc
We ALL need social care to be better funded as its linked to the wellbeing of all our gealthcare services and allows the NHS to function.

I think that people with the money & resources should pay for their own care and there should be a safety net for those who can't.

The expectation to inherit should not be seen as an automatic right and people's savings should be seen as their savings to pay for their old age, not necessarily to pass on.

Working people? The last national insurance rise was paid by employers.

She lied. We are going to have many tax rises under this awful regime.

The current NI increase is already negatively impacting social care.

It’s due to cost adult social care £900million next year. In combination with the minimum wage increase it is set to increase costs for the 18,000 independent adult social care organisations to around £2.8billion next year.

So, many will fold ending vital care services. These combined costs not only cancel out the extra funds in the budget for adult social care they will also atrophy the extra spending power given local councils in the budget.

NI really is the most ridiculous tax. Jeremy Hunt's ambition to gradually abolish it was noble and correct. How can it be that income from work is taxed more heavily than income from assets? It's madness.

Whilst I agree fixing social care is important, increasing a tax that applies solely to working people and employers is not a fair way to raise that money.

Teresa May was on to the right track in 2017, but it lost her the super-majority that she was on track for. Massive generalisation, but the boomers hated the idea of footing their own care bill.