Care costs and pension lump sum vs annuity payments

[IdreamedAdreamINtimesGONEby]

Looking into whether it makes any difference with pensions or not as to whether leaving a pension as accessible for a lump sum payout or changing it to annuity payments.

When care costs are assessed, if you don't have the lump sum, do they still take the whole pension amount into consideration?

Parent is not of pensionable age yet but needing care.

Yes, this hasn’t happened to us yet as everyone who needed care had a final salary pension so there wasn’t a choice to be made about buying an annuity or not.

But if savings are used up above a certain level, then social services pay for care but a proportion of the person’s pension is taken to pay for it too, leaving them about £30 a week as a personal allowance for things like haircuts, magazines, presents, clothing, toiletries.

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/care/paying-for-care/paying-for-a-care-home/