26 May 2011
Workers to be told to save for care in old age
Many people will be banking on relying on the current social care system to take care of them in old age. Unfortunately they will be in for a rude awakening. By 2031 almost one in four people in Britain will be aged over 65 and many, through no fault of their own given economic circumstance, will rely on the social services system to provide their care.
Paul Burstow, Care Services Minister is now however issuing a stark warning, stating that the public should be prepared to foot their own care bills.
Workers could now be asked to save towards the cost of their own care and supporting themselves through out their old age by contributing more to pension funds or insurance schemes.
These warnings have come after an international study concluded that the bill for the elderly and disabled people in industrialised nations could treble by 2050. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and development has said that within the next three decades the costs for the elderly and disabled will double.
A government led commission has said that individuals who are looking at privately funding their care as well as the Treasury itself will have to find more money than previously budgeted for as residential and homecare costs for the aging population are set to rise dramatically in the next 20 years.
This may seam a tad shocking to many people but research conducted through focus groups shows that most people will be happy to contribute, with insurance and pensions as the favoured methods of planning and saving for any future care costs. Interestingly, the least two favoured methods were relying on family and releasing housing assets.
