WIREDGOV

• 80% have no idea of how much they will have to pay for care
• 50% think long-term care is free at the point of use
• Today’s average pension pot will not fund expected long-term care costs
• Only one in ten MPs support long-term care being fully funded by the state

A recent report by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), entitled “Who cares?”, highlights that despite the recent Dilnot Commission¹ , the public remains unaware of the real cost of long-term care and the necessity to make personal provision to meet this cost.

The current average long-term care bill is £26,000² per annum and the average length of stay in a care home is two years³ creating an average care bill of £52,000. The current average pension provides an income of only £10,000⁴ per annum, leaving a huge annual deficit.

David Thomson, director of policy and public affairs at the CII, said: “There is clearly a massive disconnect between public perception and reality. 80%⁵ of the public have no idea of how much their long-term care will cost and consequently are unlikely to be making any provision to meet that cost. Even more worrying is that 50%⁶ of the public think long-term care is entirely free at the point of use. The reality is starkly different.

“Our research shows MPs have very little appetite⁷ for a model that is fully funded by the state, over 50%⁸ preferring instead a partnership model similar to that outlined by the Dilnot Commission. Yet even with a model as outlined by the Dilnot Commission the funding deficit still remains significant, meaning people will have to consider using capital tied up in non-pension assets such as property.

“This problem needs to be addressed through measures to increase public awareness and by reinforcing public confidence in any new financial services market that might develop. Above all, there needs to be rigorous debate of the proposals set out by Dilnot.”

The CII’s report “Who cares?” can be found here

Contacts

David Ross, director of communications
david.ross@cii.co.uk
Office: 020 7417 4478
Mobile: 07545 401788

Lucy Grubb, public relations manager
lucy.grubb@cii.co.uk
Office: 020 7417 4430
Mobile: 07584 21408

Notes to Editors:

The CII

The CII is the world’s leading professional organisation for insurance and financial services. Its 101,000 members are committed to maintaining the highest standards of technical competence and ethical conduct.
A robust framework of learning and development solutions enables the CII to support corporate partners and individuals across the industry. It ensures that all members comply with minimum standards and inspires many more to achieve advanced levels of technical and professional competence.

Research sources

¹The Commission on Funding of Care and Support (July 2011) “Fairer Care Funding: Final Report”
² The Commission on Funding of Care and Support (Dec 2010) “Call for evidence on the Future Funding of Care and Support”
³ The Commission on Funding of Care and Support (Dec 2010) “Call for evidence on the Future Funding of Care and Support”
⁴ OECD (2009) “United Kingdom: Highlights from OECD Pensions at a Glance”
⁵ ICM and BBC poll (2010) “77% oblivious to the cost of care”
⁶ Department of Health/Ipsos Mori (2010) “Public attitudes towards care and support”
⁷ See our report, “Who Cares?” p.11-12 for detailed results from our survey of MPs
⁸ See our report, “Who Cares?” p.11-12 for detailed results from our survey of MPs