The prospect of paying for care homes can seem a daunting one, especially when it appears that so many factors go into assessing out how much exactly you will be paying.
The cost of care will depend on where in the UK you live, and also if you will require nursing care; this can mean there may be substantial variations in cost.
Average annual UK care home fees 2016/17
Region/Cost per annum |
With nursing care |
Without nursing care |
Greater London | £49,350 | £38,532 |
East of England | £51,272 | £35,000 |
South East | £54,132 | £36,504 |
Northern Ireland | £34,840 | £26,832 |
South West | £48,204 | £34,060 |
West Midlands | £43,524 | £29,796 |
East Midlands | £37,700 | £30,056 |
North West | £39,832 | £26,572 |
Yorkshire & Humber | £39,260 | £28,392 |
North East | £34,632 | £29,276 |
Wales | £39,988 | £29,432 |
Scotland | £44,304 | £33,228 |
(Researched by Laing & Buisson for their Care of older people UK market report, 28th edition, published May 2017. Some care homes may charge considerably more).
It’s worth bearing in mind that although at first you may not need nursing care, this may well change in the future. Therefore, looking at this table it is reasonable to assume that you can expect to pay on average more than £36,500 per year for residential care homes in the South East, and over £54,000 for nursing as well.
The average cost of residential care in the South East is over £3,000 per month and many people already pay £4,500 or more each month for their care. This is expected to double over the next twenty years, and these figures only cover the basic residential costs – on top of this you may also have to pay for clothing, toiletries, personal items, trips, treats and telephone calls.
How much of this total sum you will have to fund yourself is worked out via a financial assessment by your local council, where they will look at your income and capital and decide how much you have to pay towards the care home fees. Depending on how you own your property, there may be various options open to you before you need care to help protect your property from care fees.
Heir Tight Wills helps clients put in place robust provisions and valid documents, to protect their loved ones and their assets both during their lifetime and after their death. For a FREE Consultation to discuss writing or updating your Will & estate planning provisions, contact Rachael Rodgers on 0845 519 7585, or CONTACT US via email.