Do you know how much care costs in your area?

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@emma-callery, Emma, out of the 700 000 which? subscribers there must be a fair number who have relatives in care homes and either pay for them, know or could find out the charges. Can you not ask them – online and through the magazine?

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I am all in favour of consumer education but believe sensationalist articles on how ignorant people are of costs is not actually that useful. Particularly if the people surveyed would be unlikely to have a clue because for an enormous number of people there is small hope of preparing for old age care in any meaningful way.

If one objectively looked at the current level of savings possible, unemployment, and a future where jobs will be deskilled or replaced by robots it does seem almost irrational to expect forward planning other than to try to earn as much as possible.

I return to the fact that we do not seem to have a very rounded view presented to us on the whole matter such as how other countries manage, the social and tax systems that might be borrowed for use in the UK. I a sure there is research available and useful lessons but Which? has not linked or presented any of it.

Are alms houses and expectations of family support, or living with family going to be the solution? Training in elderly care and area support groups might be the things to offer as the population of aged increases with little money in the pot. Or increased taxation for a specific social fund, or the lottery solely for care.

Solutions are tougher but more useful than simply saying how woeful people are at judging current prices of a particular service.

It seems to be a rather common approach; “how bad things are”, that “something must be done”, but no real thought-through proposals about possible solutions and by whom.

That is hard work, of corse. An area that willing, experienced and interested Convo contributors and Which? Members could help with if the resource was properly used?

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I agree in principle that families should take care of their own; your parents devoted time and effort to raise you, and they deserve the same treatment when they become dependent.

However, that can be problematic in our society when both partners in a family work, and when so many families move apart geographically.

I would certainly rather see more “at home” care of a decent standard being provided, funded privately where the means exist, just like care homes, to hopefully ensure the help is of good quality.

Until we become a more prosperous country, or decide to switch our spending in favour of social care from causes I consider less important, we must face up to using our savings to pay for care where that money is available.

Duncan: couple of things… Average life expectancy in Russia and Mongolia has only recently reached 70; for many years it was below 65, so ‘elderly Russians’ are something of a rarity. Our life expectancy is 81, so we will tend to have far more elderly and infirm folk needing care.

But I don’t agree entirely with Malcolm’s comment “your parents devoted time and effort to raise you, and they deserve the same treatment when they become dependent.”. Parents generally choose to become parents and assume the responsibilities that choice entails. Their children, on the other hand, did not choose to be born,neither did they choose the set of parents they have, so I can’t agree that the implication of the comment “they deserve the same treatment when they become dependent” is valid. We should never expect anything of our children.

Frankly, if either of us become incapable of climbing a mountain each day then we’ll make a quick exit.

I wonder how many families feel no wish at all to help either their parents, siblings or children? Maybe my family is on its own, but we’ve all been there for each other in good times and bad for nothing more than a wish to be involved. Expectation didn’t enter into it.

conversation.which.co.uk/members/emma-callery/

Will you be able to answer the first post in the Conversation as to providing a link to the actual survey.

Hi, just to build on Emma’s contribution, I thought you would also be interested in our recent policy report on social care: https://www.which.co.uk/policy/public-services/3203/beyond-social-care-keeping-later-life-positive

Duncan – the piece by Sean Hennessy that you have quoted is a reasonable social opinion commentary [subject to the lifespan qualifications mentioned by Ian] but I feel he is wrong when he says “In Britain alone over half a million elderly people are put into care homes rather than helped to remain independent, and that figure is growing year by year“. There might well be that number of people in care homes but it is an exaggeration to say that they have all been put there. A very large number have decided of their own volition to take up residence in a care home because it relieves them of a number of life’s chores and burdens and because they can afford it. They might not be in need of much care initially but anticipate that they might become more dependent later. There is quite a range of different care home styles available to suit all segments of the market – it is, after all, a largely commercial activity.

Another related point is that many elderly people do not have children [not siblings – a word misused by Hennessy; siblings are brothers and sisters] who can look after them or who have “put them in a care home”. They have had to make their own arrangements and would normally do so with the assistance of their social services department which would ensure that a proper assessment was made as to the suitability of accommodation and that access to any funding was provided subject to eligibility.

I agree with your point about those not owning their own homes. If they have been financially unable to save for their care in later life, or have chosen not to, then they are facing a difficult future.

If they are living in rented accommodation then the money they pay in rent and for cooking, heating lighting, insurance, water and council tax will be saved and will have to form the basis of their weekly or monthly care homes fees. They would probably also have a state retirement pension, possibly an occupational pension, and perhaps some savings. If they have assets below the threshold and have been in receipt of housing benefit and council tax relief then the chances are that they will be eligible for full or partial funding for a place in a care home. Their situation will not be wonderful but they should be able to live within their means in a satisfactory establishment.