@Zipps
think it's a ridiculous idea that we should all save our money in case we need care when we are over 85. We'll be spending every penny by then and have already treated/helped our dc and gc. What happens if we're penniless and need care? Oh yes the same as what happens to everyone else who has never bothered saving or investing let alone work. We're actually planning now in our mid 50's to gradually spend it and give it away over the next 30 years starting now.
As @WhatATimeToBeAlive says: The difference is though if you have your own money you can choose where to have your care and it is likely to be far better than social care provided by the state
@Zipps I would seriously caution you against this attitude. It maybe that you've had no experience of it with elderly grandparents/aunts/uncles/parents as you are too young.
However, if you have ever had any dealings with care through social services, you would realise the huge difference between being able to pay for and choose your own care.
It isn't (as you so charmingly put it) just about being a ‘zombie / vegetable’, but basic things like mobility. Having money makes it possible to choose where you live, whether you stay in your own home, whether you can afford to pay for stair lifts/adaptations etc.
You could be perfectly fine mentally but need physical care such as catherterisation or other medical procedures, people to cook for you,help you into bed and so on. Things that could be manageable in your own home but that become costly to manage if you are dealing with one person but much cheaper if you have a load of people together in a care home.
Social care provision provided through social services/care companies is mostly poor because there is a staffing crisis and the roles are very poorly paid. You can be lucky and find one or two good people, but you are far more likely to get a better standard (as well as continuity of care personnel) if you can afford to pay for it yourself and employ people directly.
I know of someone who had fallen in his home, his government funded carer called the ambulance and the companythat employed the carer insisted they leave because an ambulance had been called and they had the next shift to go to. He was left on his own on the floor with the front door unlocked so the ambulance could get in if he arrived. If you are paying someone directly, that wouldn't happen. He wasn't a zombie/vegetable (your words) but couldn't afford to pay for someone himself so just gets base level one visit a day. a
Money means you have control over your care and your standard of living that you totally lose if you are at the behest of public funding.