There are some grossly incorrect generalisations on this thread which I just can't overlook.
As background, both my parents require care. They have experienced a tragic set of circumstances that has led to a rapid deterioration in their health with long term consequences. They are self funded and now face spending tens of thousands of pounds a year on care alone, in their own home.
I cannot tell you all strongly enough how I feel about the suggestions that as a child of parents suffering cruelly through the final years of their lives, money grabbing inheritance is the last thing I could give a damn about.
To those who have suggested it, all I can conclude is that this ignorance is born of jealousy because other people have more than you do. Be thankful you are ignorant, the reality is painful and no amount of inheritance could compensate for it.
There also seems to be some suggestion that going into a care home is a choice. Believe me, if it was, you couldn't pay me to take it.
Now to some facts.
There is a huge difference between care, homes and care homes. People have suggested that those seeking funding in care homes just want free accommodation and that social care is synonymous with care homes. This is wrong. Care is available and is mostly provided IN the home. In reality there are several tiers of support available ranging from daily home visits, to live in care, up to care homes. Costs tier accordingly. We should be maximising all these options before using care homes as a last resort. The important point here is that it is the CARE which should be funded, not the home. I don't think anyone would argue that the home / accommodation aspect of any care package should be funded by the individual. But why should 50 odd years of tax and NI contributions to healthCARE become redundant because you have saved more or worked harder than someone else?
Next, it is true and grossly unfair that self-funded patients pay up to 1/3 more than state funded. Those who have been frugal or sensible are subsidising state funded patients and only the care industry is profiting.
Next, it is incorrect that you can choose not to sell your house and expect a state funded care home place. As noted in pp, deferred payments can be made whereby they are claimed against the value of the house on death. It's crucial to remember that there is often a vulnerable spouse who still needs accommodation too, so selling is just not that straightforward. Given that care homes cost around £50-60,000 per year, per person, the average house is not going to pay for many years.
Finally, with the upcoming pension changes in 2015 and increasing popularity of equity release meaning that people are able to draw down lump sums on pensions and assets for any purpose, my biggest concern around funding social care in the future would be people spending / giving away (within the 7y period free of iht) their savings in the knowledge that their place will be funded anyway.
The care act 2016 goes a long way to introducing some fairness and standards in the system in my view. For those not familiar with it, it proposes that there should be a cap on any individual's lifetime spending on care costs (not accommodation or food).
This is a change which I wholeheartedly support because I believe in looking after the generation who worked so hard to shape the country in which we live, not penalising them for doing the right thing by working hard, saving or for growing old.
Sorry this was such a long post.