What's the point in buying a house (with £thousands in interest) only to lose it to pay for your social care?

[milleniaaal]

Genuine question.

I'm a Millenial and I've recently learned that if you need some sort of care in old age for things like mobility issues, carers or you need 24 assistance, care home etc. then the government can literally take your home, sell it and use it to pay for all of those things.

It doesn't make sense to me that this can happen after you've paid years and years towards tax, NI and council tax etc.

I'm not sure why 7 years keeps coming up on care threads. The 7 year rule is for inheritance tax only. With deprivation of assets they can go back as far as they like to discern the intention. The trust schemes are expensive to set up, can cause family discord and are not guaranteed to work. The assets held in trusts are also subject to taxation.

It always amazes me that some people seem to resent spending their own money on accommodation in a care home, having paid for their own accommodation throughout their lives. No one moving from a house to a bungalow because they couldn't cope with the stairs anymore would expect the state to subsidise them. I suspect it's either because they want to pass the property to their descendants, or part of an entrenched view that somehow care and nursing care are the same thing.

Worth noting that if the property is jointly owned, it won't have to be sold as I understand it.

Against that, there is a debate to be had on how the system works. Currently private payers are charged more, so are effectively subsidising non-payers. Better options around insuring against future expenses, or the ability to defer payment, could also help.

But ultimately, the state runs out of other people's money, and individuals need to take some responsibility.

I ended up caring my elderly grandmother after my grandad died.

‘they want to put me in a home but I’ve told them that you’re moving in to look after me’.

two days after I move in

’I’m not ruining her life…. She’s got the house now… you were all happy to sell the house for care, she’s the best care I could have’.

Half the family agreed that it was the best for grandma, and while I inherited everything the whole lot, it would have been spent in care home fees and I deserved it. The other half were spiteful as they weren’t offered the opportunity’ and thought it was unfair (but never offered to help out our grandparents before).

I think I’ll do the same when I’m grey and old.

Under 5% of people over 65 are living in some sort of care home. So chances are you will live in your home until you die or choose to move.

I agree op. It often seems that people with a pension over and above the state pension often have to make a choice about whether they can actually afford to pay a large contribution to their care.

It is interesting that a generation or two ago most people were horrified about the idea of being reliant on the state for anything but it seems accepted now that of you can get away with not paying your own way you should try to. Not sure who people think should pay if they don't and are able to. Not saying there shouldn't be some changes made to the rules and thresholds though.

That simply isn't true. I've been speaking to a solicitor about exactly this as my Dad has recently received a diagnosis that means a care home will be necessary for him in the short to medium future. Deprivation of assets doesn't have a time frame.

And I know about providing care to a family member and how it feels, having done it and about to start doing it again.

Most people don't need care, or at least don't need much care. You are investing in an asset. We fully plan to downsize post-kids to free up equity, and enjoy our retirement (e.g. spend the money!)

A relative ended up needing care home, in the end it was only for a few months. On his behalf I looked at care homes and started off with a reasonable looking one. It was grim. The basic facilities, the location, the views from every window. So I looked at higher end care homes and my gosh what a way to live the last few months or years of your life, thanks to having a home to provide more than the very basics.

This.

Also this.

Homes are getting full - by having your own assets, you may be better able to time going into a home of your choice when a space is available, rather than only when the LA has exhausted all lower cost options such as care visists

Yes fancy!

wanting to pay your own way, rather than expecting others (often less well off than you) to fund you.

a welfare system should be a net, for those that need. Not something to be grabbed, by those who prefer not to pay.

I’m not talking about health, education or a reasonable state pension, but benefits to help those who cannot afford the care they need.

By owning my own home........

I don't have to worry about the landlord giving notice. Or being unable to find another home in school catchment. My child has a secure home.

I organise repairs myself, so things get dealt with promptly. No mould. I can decorate it how I wish, choose heating, carpets, kitchen & bathroom I like. I can upgrade the facilities to live how we want.

I can run a business from home, without worrying about rules and restrictions.

In the long run it is less expensive. I'm 2 years from paying off my mortgage. I pay £412 a month for a 4 bed detached. Rising interest rates have added an extra £42. Some people are seeing rent rises of £700.

It is an investment, so when DS flies the nest and I retire, I can downsize, move somewhere less expensive and use the money left over to pay for any care I may need.

And not everyone goes into a home. Neither of my parents did.

It's one of those myths that's taken hold - like common law wife.

That's interesting, thanks for the figures.

Some posters on these sort of threads give the impression that every older person will have to live in a care home which is clearly not true.

It's cheaper than renting .

By the time you need care OP you'll be only too glad you've got some money to pay for it. If you think the State will care for you, I pity you for what's to come.

Why should fellow taxpayers finance your care home if you have an asset that could be sold to raise money??

Talk about entitled.

I guess cos people think there should be a number of years, and, as there isn’t, the 7 years has taken hold because IHT is often a factor in the same discussions about gifting assets.

I think this thread is in property, but many such threads are in Elderly Parents, where care is a live issue for most posters, so it’s a much higher proportion on there.

So you have somewhere to live until you need care (if you ever do)

Only 4% of the total population aged 65 years and over live in care homes, rising to 15% of those aged 85 or more. This does not take into account the number having carers in their own home. You may need social care in your old age, then again you may not.

So do you have the idea that people shouldn't work as they can just live on benefits?

Because otherwise you pay rent for years and years like my parents. If you pay off your mortgage in your fifties or sixties you have years with no mortgage or rent payments