Fed up of reading threads asking how they can get out of paying care home fees.

[Nextdoortomeis]

As per the title.
I'm sure lots of people would like the state to pay care home fees.
But we don't live in a fair world.
Both mum and mil paid nearly £70k in fees
yes I didn't want to pay but I also wanted them to get the best care in their later years.

That is what happens, in many care home in my area you have local authority funded clients living alongside self-funders.

The problem is, we simply cannot afford to pay for everyone.

My advice would be to downsize near retirement age, treat your kids/grandkids and enjoy your life!!

That is my plan.

It's impossible to live in the UK and pay no tax at all. Everybody pays VAT because we all buy things that VAT is charged on. Most of us pay council tax, either directly or through our rental payments.

I would certainly be happy to see some of my taxes going to fund HMRC so they can tackle the problem of tax evasion from higher earners. It's cloud cuckoo land but I'd like people to be openly praised for paying all their taxes (like J. K. Rowling) and shamed for not paying them.

Good luck to my incompetent local authority trying to go through my bank account and work out what was spent and when and where.
I look at things over the last month and think what was that and was me spending it

Thousands of current pensioners are the generation who scrimped to buy their council house, many of them where I live are worth less than £90k.

It's an asset that would make a huge difference to the next generation but be blown in care fees in less than a year.

Of course it’s hard. You don’t tick a box on a form saying you’re not going to pay.

I think the whole system is incredibly unfair and the government should be looking at a fairer system.

My mum was paying a fortune for carers (in her own home) whereas my kids other granny got everything for free. My mum, like other granny, only had her pension as her income but she was frugal so had savings. It just seemed so unfair.

So you think having to pay for residential care is ‘money down the drain’? How weird.
Most people of my generation who bought their first homes in the 80s have benefitted massively from inflation - me included. No ‘blood, sweat and tears’ involved.
Why should the ‘state’, ie everyone else, pay for your care in later life just so that your children get a hand out which they have done absolutely nothing to deserve apart from being your offspring?

The trouble is, all those saying about self-funding possibly don't realise how much money is involved. My parents have certainly put money aside. They own a modest bungalow in the North East and have investments, etc. The reality is, if they had to go into care, despite both having worked for decades to save for a relatively comfortable old age, that money including the sale of the bungalow is going to last about 4 years max. At which point, they'll be entitled to the social care, which apparently equates to them having sat on their arses all their lives and taking money from people who worked hard to provide for themselves.

My parents HAVE done all that. It still may not be enough. It's likely that unless your parents have a house worth over £500,000 and very high savings, they will end up being in a home for 'free' if they develop dementia, which people can live with for many years. My parents, like most people of their age were middle income earners, both working. It simply won't be enough for years of care, but that really isn't because they haven't worked and saved.

@Mearse Im so sorry your dad went through that. I worked in a care home many years ago (30+) - beautiful grounds, beautiful premises, cost a bomb. Hell on earth for the residents: staff finishing their coffee before answering a bell, condescending, gently mocking. The owners - driving around in their Mercs, never to be seen unless prospective residents were looking about - lived in the grounds. They used to phone on sunny days to ask why there wasn’t washing on the line and insist that the one or two assistants who were busy feeding the numerous residents left that (knowing that that would mean those residents when hungry) to take the washing out of the dryer and hang it out. Profits before people at every turn. I will buy a one way ticket to Switzerland for myself or my husband before I allow either of us to go into one of those places - and not so that I can hand my house on to my kids! To be honest, a lot of people with assets will need to sell to fund their old age before then anyway, now that decent pensions seem to be a thing of the past, so not sure who will pay care home deed then.

For those who have no assets I can see this may be the thinking ( no suggestion re yourself of course)

However
You conveniently forget
The council technically steal money every month from the self funders to pay for those they fund.
That’s why the fees are so huge.
People are paying for random strangers in the room next to them, just because they’ve saved enough to look after themselves.

That’s the disgrace here.

Of note In terms of your phrase greedy
is everyone that goes on holiday or has a car or eats out considered greedy. Just because they have more money and others don’t.
Should we all pay for everyone to have everything so we are all equal in every way. That’s communism.

I do realise that, I'm not an idiot.

I'm sympathetic but I don't see it as any different from paying for any other service. Nursing care is different.

They won't fund care until they are satisfied you aren't able to self fund and haven't deprived yourself of assets going back years.

And what happens if those assets are long gone?

Can we apply this to Council Tax then pls and all pay the same for our bins, street lighting and police?

I think you’ll find @PizzaPowder is referring to those who haven’t worked.
Or haven’t worked much
So have paid very little National insurance and income tax

No people going on holiday or eating out are not greedy.

People expecting not to pay for a holiday or meals out would be.

Why should nursing care be different?

Why do i pay more for that just because my house is a bit bigger than someone in a two bed house? We’re using the same street lights and rubbish collectors and road sweepers.

Well apart from the most vulnerable we do don't we?

Aside from the banding of course which does need looking at.

I agree

We certainly do not

This

Because it comes under the NHS and technically we've paid for it already through general taxation.

The very same people are probably furious about inheritance tax (that 95% won't even have to pay) as well.
The bottom line is that they want their parents money.

And we’ve already paid for social care via Council Tax.

I will ask again So should all care workers quit now and get better paid jobs to ensure they can pay for their own care as ppl resent low paid workers so much

You want to see what happens when essential workers down tools? Cast your eyes over to Birmingham!!