Bad news for middle class pensioners in England. Under a new proposal by economist Andrew Dilnot, the middle class pensioners are going to be paying for their own old age care. Figures set between £35,000 and £50,000 that they would need to pay, according to a review coming out this week. Elderly spending is soon going to be cut by more than £600million this year, making it necessary to come up with creative ways to fund this need.
At the moment, many pensioners already pay for part of their care. Anyone who has savings or assets that reach above £23,250 has to pay for their own care in full. And this includes property values.
Upcoming Review
The upcoming review will raise the threshold so that those with very modest savings will benefit at the expense of the taxpayers – but those in the middle class will have to pay more.
Many organizations including Age UK, the British Heart Foundation and the Alzheimer’s Society have been writing to Prime Minster David Cameron to urge him to accept the Dilnot proposal.
Social Care System
As they wrote, “The social care system has been in growing crisis for years. Our organisations deal every day with people at the most vulnerable points in their lives who are either not receiving any social care support or a small level of help that is grossly inadequate to their needs. We call upon the government to take this opportunity offered by the Dilnot Commission and produce a White Paper in the autumn detailing how it will create a sustainable and fair social care system, including how it will be funded.”
At Odds Over Care
Certainly, this plan has both its defenders and detractors. Chancellor George Osborne is resistant to the plan, while Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Lib Dem care minister Paul Burstow are both supportive of it.
Michelle Mitchell, the charity director for Age UK, said, “Funding for social care is already inadequate. We are fearful that even more vulnerable older people will be left to struggle alone and in some cases lives will be put at risk. We anticipate these cuts will condemn many more older people to a miserable existence behind closed doors struggling to keep safe and well.”