• Clients’ future care requirements are high on the agenda for vast majority of financial advisers.
• Half of over-45s arranging care for a loved one with the help of an adviser go on to make their own arrangements as a result
• Just Group says findings reveal the intrinsic value of financial advice when planning for later-life
Findings from Just Group’s 2023 Care Report: No Policy, No Planning shine a light on the “stellar job” that financial advisers are doing to help people prepare for the possibility of needing care in later life.
The latest research in a series dating back more than a decade uncovers the strong views the over-45s have on a wide range of themes including how and where they would like to receive care. Two-thirds (66%) say they don’t want to go into a residential care home, 65% would be happy for carers to come into their home and half (51%) don’t want their children to become their care-givers.
Despite these preferences, there is a widespread lack of planning with 76% of over 45s saying that they have not thought about care, planned for care or spoken to their family about it.
While preparation and knowledge may be low among consumers aged 45 plus, an additional survey of 200 adviser firms reveals the value the financial advice industry is delivering for its clients.
Nearly all advisers said that care forms part of their planning conversations with clients. Seven in 10 (71%) say they ask all clients whether they plan to receive care in their home, while another quarter (27%) ask most clients.
Of the nine in 10 (89%) advisers who ask clients if they have preferences about where they would like to receive care, most (81%) will also go on to ask about the suitability or adaptability of their current homes for care in later life.
Those with experience of finding a care home for a loved one with support from an adviser were nearly four times more likely to subsequently make their own care plans than those who had made arrangements without adviser help.
Over a quarter (27%) of these respondents said this was prompted by the realisation of how difficult it was to organise care, with 22% saying the experience made them realise how expensive care can be.
Stephen Lowe, group communications director at retirement specialist Just Group, commented: “The planned introduction of new care funding rules this autumn has been delayed to after the next General Election and many question whether the reforms will ever see the light of day.
“Announcing policies that are never delivered has a cost. The litany of abandoned policy announcements leaves people having to sift fact from fiction in an already excruciatingly complex process. It’s no wonder our research shows people are delaying making plans, and leaving themselves vulnerable to harm as they are faced with complicated decisions that are often made in a hurry at a point of crisis.
“The one beacon of hope is the work being done by the financial advice community. They are doing a stellar job supporting their clients by encouraging them to explore what they would want if they do need care and working out how this can be funded.
Adviser-involvement in care cases not only improves the outcomes for the client, but our research shows it often galvanises other family members involved to start preparing for their own potential care needs.
Improving social care is a difficult problem but should not be insurmountable. At a time when political parties are preparing for the next election, we would urge them to put care policy at the heart of their manifestos and to recognise the positive impact of better information, advice and financial planning on achieving better care outcomes in later life.”
