Care costs planning is now that little bit harder

As part of a series of cost-cutting measures to plug a £22bn 'hole' in public finances, this week chancellor Rachel Reeves scrapped plans for a reform of social care, due to be implemented in October 2025. That would have capped the amount someone could be asked to pay in their lifetime towards their care costs at £86,000, among other changes. Currently, there is no cap and state-funded social care is means-tested, with only those with less than £23,250 in assets qualifying for support.

Natasha Etherton, later life financial adviser at Evelyn Partners, says that while the reforms “were never going to solve the care crisis”, they would have been “a welcome acknowledgement of the hugely stressful financial and social situation” many families find themselves in. Scrapping the reforms, she argues, is “a devastating blow”.

The cap only applied to personal care costs, for instance, the cost of help with things such as feeding, medication and getting dressed. It did not apply to so-called 'hotel costs', which include for example the cost of a room and food in a care home. Figures from Just and LaingBuisson estimated the average person would in fact have paid around £238,700 for their care before reaching the cap.