Care Funding Advice

Andy Beardsley needed to provide financial security for his mother Kate, a former teacher, who had moved into a care home after a six-week spell in hospital.

Bridging the gap between income and care costs

Andy, who has power of attorney over his mother’s finances, helped find her a place in a nursing home in Maldon, Essex. But the fees were more than £17,000 a year more than the income from her pensions.

Andy arranged the sale of his mother’s two-bedroom flat near Ashford, Kent and spoke to Saga about how best to use the proceeds for care.

Meeting care bills

One option is to pay them from savings and investments and potentially, by letting the home of the person in care. However this leaves families at the mercy of investment markets and guessing how long someone may need to be in care.

To meet Kate’s annual fees shortfall of £17,000, Saga recommended that Andy buy a care fee annuity. It cost almost £97,000 but gives Kate and Andy the absolute certainty over income and in this case, the annuity payments rise by 5% each year to help cover any fee increases.

Andy says “If it hadn’t been for Saga’s advice, I would have become desperate. The money would have been running down fast and I would have been watching the clock”.

Customer Quotes

 
"Thank you very much indeed for all your advice, which has combined professionalism with sympathy. It has been of enormous help in this difficult time knowing that I am in a 'safe pair of hands' and I am already recommending you to friends if they should be in a similar position"

Mrs H
West Sussex 

 
"For over 40 years I have been employed in the customer service industry and it was so refreshing, in our present age, to be able to deal with your company – again a case of Saga Personal Finance done properly"

Mr R
Norfolk

 
"Now that my mother’s annuity has been finalised, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the extremely helpful and efficient way in which you dealt with this. I was particularly impressed with the ease at which I was able to contact you to clarify these queries and the extremely helpful and patient way in which you dealt with these"

Ms T
Leicestershire