Elder Care: Cost Expected to Rise (UK)

Cost of caring 'will hit £60,000' as a generation is forced to dip into savings to support ageing parents
By Beth Hale
15th August 2008

Rising care costs mean a generation may have to eat into their own savings to support ageing parents, says a report.

Research by the Saga group gives a stark warning that pensioners and their children are unprepared for the financial burden of long-term care.
It says millions of men and women who have dipped into the 'Bank of Mum and Dad' may become the 'Bank of Sons and Daughters'.

The cost of care is already between £25,000 to £30,000 a year and is expected to double in the next 20 years
Just one in ten children surveyed had discussed what they would do if their parents' health failed later in life.

And half of them dramatically underestimated the fees. Care homes already cost between £25,000 and £30,000 a year.

But Saga forecasts the figure will double in the next 20 years, reaching £60,000, because residential and nursing home charges are rising faster than inflation.

It means the inheritance may have to be plundered, or else children may have to raid their savings to ensure an elderly parent is looked after.

Abridged
SOURCE: Daily Mail UK
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