You can give your spouse, your executors and financial adviser access to it, which means the right information can be put into the right hands at the right time.
For IFAs working with female clients, it is important to steer them in the direction of a fully qualified will writer who will present the best options to help protect themselves and their children.
3. Why women pay more for later-life care
Jacqueline Berry, founder of My Care Consultant
According to the Office for National Statistics, one in four people in the UK will be aged 65 or more by 2050, an increase from approximately one in five in 2018.
The proportion of those older than 85 is set to double by 2041 and then treble by 2066.
While longevity should be celebrated, it has undoubtably put more pressure onto a social care system that is already struggling due to chronic under-funding.
After more than 20 years of this issue being kicked into the long grass by successive administrations, the government has finally grasped the nettle.
On September 7, as detailed by FTAdviser, Prime Minister Boris Johnson presented his plan to fix social care, and we now have the £86,000 care cap – the amount of money consumers will have to pay for ‘personal care’ – back on the table.
This is akin to the Dilnot proposals commissioned by the coalition government back in 2011.
While it is positive that for the first time we actually have a plan of action, supported by a dedicated long-term revenue stream, when further details surface from government around costings and delivery I suspect many will end up paying far more towards their care than £86,000.
Currently, when it comes to care itself, the cost can vary considerably by region and the level of services and facilities available.
According to think tank The Kings Fund, in 2019-20 the average cost of a local-authority-funded care home place for someone aged more than 65 was £679 a week.
The Competition and Markets Authority estimated that care home fees paid by self-funders are, on average, 41 per cent higher than those paid by local authorities.
Domiciliary (home) care costs can also vary hugely depending on location, and costs will also depend on what sort of care you need, how many hours of care you need and what times of the day and week you need it.
The UK Homecare Association has calculated the minimum price for home care services is £21.43 per hour for 2021-22 – 74p more than the £20.69 rate for last year.
How this will change under the new legislation remains to be seen, but while the cost of care needs to be considered by everyone as they age, it is particularly important for women.
