How much to save for future care?

[noworklifebalance]

I am trying to help my elderly parent plan for future care needs, which they are likely to need. At the moment they are generally independent but have signs of early dementia.
They are looking to sell their home and move in with my sibling (everyone is on board with the plan). No idea how much they will get from the sale as the house is quite dated. We don’t want to be accused of depreciating assets but equally want her to enjoy her life and contribute to my siblings household.

What is a ball park reasonable amount to set aside such that a good effort has been made to save for care - obviously not knowing how long and how much care will be needed?

Then if its unaffordable the person is LA funded in a home they will pay for.

My understanding is my Dad is the responsibility of the local social services, although as his POA and daughter I can step in because he has funds to choose.

So, while he has savings and his house its not unaffordable. When he doesnt, weve picked a home where hopefully the LA will fund him (a quarter of the residents there are LA funded) so, again, not unaffordable.

Eyewatering, yes.

It's also worth bearing in mind that there can be different fee scales within the same setting. So, for example, someone funded by the council will likely be paying less, as the council will negotiate reduced rates. Someone else paying for themselves will likely be quoted a higher rate. It's quite possible to stay in the same setting when you go from self funding to council funding. Of course this isn't always the case and there might still be a top up needed.

Yes, my Dads home has 4 bandings for self funding based on increasing need. The LA do their own thing and their fees are topped up by reserved profits, not by current residents. At least at the moment they are. But this is probably quite rare.

As PPs have said there's basically no such thing as a council run care home any more, not quite, there are a few I'm sure but probably quite specialized. What there is a (weekly) rate councils consider reasonable to pay (depending on location and the type of care needed e.g. 'normal' residential, specialist dementia residential, nursing, specialist nursing). Some homes exclusively charge the council rate to everyone regardless of whether the council are paying or you're self funding, some charge more so are only accessible to private funding people and some (probably the majority) charge one rate for self-funders and one for council-funded residents (all residents treated the same but to some extent the self-funders are subsidizing the others). So long as you don't choose a home providing care in excess of her needs (e.g. a nursing home when she only needs residential) and you don't choose somewhere excessively expensive/luxurious it's likely she wouldn't need to move if/when her own money runs out, the council can usually step in to pay the bills once the person's funds are exhausted.

In terms of your question I'm afraid I'd think less about how much she needs to save, as residential care is so expensive there's a fair likelihood it will far exceed any normal persons means (if she ends up needing residential for say 2 years or more, which is not a given of course, she may manage very well at home). I'd think more of what is it reasonable for her to spend/give away - elderly people aren't expected to live totally parsimonious lives and save all their money for future care, it's reasonable that she will need to spend some money on housing herself (for e.g. if re-decorations or adaptations are needed to your siblings property for her to live there, very reasonable for her to pay for those), on utilities and other household bills (reasonable for her to make a contribution to these I would have thought), food and on socializing. It's fine also for her to make (generous) cash gifts on occasion to you and your sibling particularly if she's in the habit of doing so already. But I'm afraid I don't think she can simply off load all her capital onto you and then expect the state to pick up the bill for her care, even if she keeps say £100k back but gives away £200k I fear that would be at risk of being seen as deprivation of assets...

She doesn't need to 'put money aside'. As long as she doesn't give away large amounts of money, she can pay for all reasonable living expenses, buy whatever she needs, go on holiday etc. She can also buy gifts (within reason) for the family.

My mother had well over £300k when she started with dementia. She ended up needing care for 9 years. Her care home fees were about £54k a year so towards the end of her life her money ran out and the local authority paid her fees in her original care home. As previous PP have said, council care homes barely exist any more so they could not move her.

The council will pay a contribution and ask the family to pay a top up fee. If family don't agree they may be moved to a cheaper home.

Social services automatically ask family if they can top up (I said no). If you have chosen a very expensive home the LA may try to move your relaitve to a cheaper home. But if you have chosen a moderately priced one, that is less likely.

When my mother's money ran out the care home manager told me what would happen: the LA would refuse to pay the full fees, the care home would refuse to accept the lower amount, and after lengthy negotiation they would come to an agreement. And that is what happened, over the course of three months.