The Aging Population’s Need for Advice on Long Term Care

If you are a consumer who finds themselves at the later stages in life, you are most likely currently being challenged with determining what your options are when it comes to your long term care. These aren’t decisions that anyone really looks forward to making. However, they are necessary to keeping quality of life at the highest possible level, even during the very latest stages of life. Ensuring that high quality of life begins with making the best decisions today. Today’s decisions will have a direct impact on tomorrow’s long term care. This is why as today’s consumer, you, need advice on long term care.

Changing Demographics

The UK is currently undergoing a major overhaul of its demographic composition, Of course, the change in demographics can have implications on the ability to provide long term care for its elder population and these implications can last for generations.

According to the Office of National Statistics, there were 2.6 million people aged 80 or older in the UK in 2010. It is expected that by the year 2031, there will be over 16 million citizens over the age of 65 in the UK. This growing elder population could in fact put a great deal of pressure and strain on a long term care system that is already undergoing reform to help make it more effective and efficient. Not only does this growing elder population put a strain on the government and local authorities but of course it puts additional strain on average citizens, both the seniors themselves and the families that are tasked with caring for them.

Options for Funding Long Term Care

There are some options available to those consumers who find that they need long term care. However, these options are typically based on assets and therefore, are not available to everyone. While it is crucial to seek advice on long term care from a professional, there are some basic concepts available to consumers to give them an idea of what kind of financial help they can expect, if any, in covering the costs of their long term care.

If you, or your loved one, think that health is starting to fail, the first step is to have a Care Assessment performed by your Local Authority. This will help determine if long term care is truly needed. If care is needed, a recommended care plan will be established.

The second step is to then try and determine how that recommended plan will be funded. This is when a means test will be performed. However, there are some basic cutoffs for how care will be funded. If you are a consumer that has assets below £14,250, it is likely that your long term care will be paid for by your Local Authority. If you have assets above £14,250 but below £23,250, you can anticipate some assistance from your Local Authority. If you have assets that exceed £23,250 you can anticipate that you won’t receive any assistance or help in paying for your long term care needs. If your assessment shows that your primary need is health related and that you require full time and consistent care, your care may be fully funded by the NHS.

Because of the assessment stages and the criteria needed to qualify for assistance paying for long term care, many consumers are finding that they are confused about what help might actually be available to them. This is why advice on long term care is crucial to making the right decisions on future care. With a population that is aging and a demographic that is changing drastically, it is important to more consumers than ever that the right advice on long term care is received before any major decisions are made.