My solution for care funding

[Kendodd]

It seems unfair to me that the cost of this are to be loaded on the young. I'm old btw

My solution, that I believe to be fairest would be a 2% inheritance tax that everyone who dies over retirement age pays. This is separate to the inheritance tax we already pay and could be owed against a house while a spouse remains living in it. Care is funded from this with residents of care homes only paying a food bill. The 2% is paid whether you needed care or not.

If you don't like my solution, please suggest a better one, don't just criticise.

I think it's a good idea. I won't be inheriting anything myself but would be happy to contribute 2% of what I own towards it.
With that expectation upon my dc already in place too when they inherit.
I don't see how it's much different to all tax payers contributing to other things they may never use.

That’s the funny thing about projections they are only as good as the data that goes into them.

So baseline picked was 2016 which not convinced as to why it’s a good baseline, there’s no justification as to why 10:3 or thereabouts ratio is optimum. For all we know it may be way more than needed or not quite enough. But there we are, in 2016 there were 1,000 workers for every 305 pensioners.

Their projection concludes that in 2042 for every 1,000 workers there will be 367 pensioners. But a couple assumptions they used are a tad off. They used a net immigration number of 165,00/yr which is about half of reality. They also kept pension age at 67 for 2042, when we know it’s going to go up to 70.

Just tweaking these to 311,000/yr immigration (closest I could get to 300,000 with my touch screen) and putting retirement age in 2042 up to 70 and the projection recalculates to 1,000 workers for every 292 pensioners. So even small tweaks completely reverse the picture, (it’s worth noting your linked projection was published by ONS in 2019, and mine by ONS in 2020)

But with both projections, the ratio is steady until 2030 followed by a gradual increase (or decrease). It’s not a sudden climb even if you go with their 2019 projection or a sudden decrease if you go with the 2020 projection I linked you to.

So it’s all a bit alarmist in my view. It’s certainly not an impending crisis.

Well it is balanced, just look at it! It’s about as close as you can get to a neat column with the exception of the death taper which is pretty normal all in all.

There’s no real evidence there will be a mass exodus of British workers going abroad. Other countries have high taxes and 50yr mortgages too, some even have higher taxes and inter-generational mortgages.

The “we are all going to have to pay more tax” is exactly what the authors writing these alarmist articles want you to start thinking. It’s not a coincidence they’ve been published in the wake of a tax increase called “the social care levy”!

Of course projections can be wrong but I disagree & think it is a crisis, simply because we haven't planned for it.

There’s no real evidence there will be a mass exodus of British workers going abroad.

I think it will be a future trend for those with in demand skills but who knows, I'm just glad my dc have European passports.

Other countries have high taxes and 50yr mortgages too, some even have higher taxes and inter-generational mortgages.

I'm fully aware but I don't think that's a good model to aim for.

Where do you think money should come from for health & social care, education, etc? Or do you think it doesn't need more funding?

1. Increase corporate tax rate from 19% to 25% it would still be lowest in G7
2. Reverse the tax cut for highest earners from current 45% back to the 2010 rate of 50%
3. Overhaul the not for profit sector as some businesses- ie private schools aren’t really charities and really should be taxed.

Cooperation tax is meant to be increasing although not if Liz gets her way. The other two suggestions are certainly not realistic under the Tories.

Agree 100%. Which is why those articles heavily imply

• it’s a crisis


• that “we all have to pay more tax for” (all except the rich and businesses)

I think the average working family is already paying their fair share, if not in tax through all the unpaid carers caring for relatives.

I think older people could pay more. Of course the rich regardless of age won't be paying more.