With an age time bomb facing the country, two West Country businesses are joining forces to help people plan their future care needs in a unique initiative.
Care Planning Services is being launched by Stone King Solicitors and Money Wise in Bath and Bristol with plans to extend to London, Bournemouth and Cambridge.
Allison Allen from Stone King and Duncan McKillop from Money Wise say currently there are more than 14.5m people in the UK aged 60 and above and more than 1.4 million aged over 85 and more pensioners than children under 16.
Allison said: “The population over 75 is projected to double in the next 30 years and nearly one in five people currently in the UK will live to see their 100th birthday which is great, but who is looking after their care needs?”
Duncan added: “We are looking at providing care advice for life, however long that is. Most people require both legal and financial advice when planning/arranging care. Paying for care can include a number of services/ products such as long term care annuities, there is not a one size fits all plan.”
Alison added that it’s not just about the advice but providing a package which can help with all aspects of later life.
“It is not just about funding care, we also offer a concierge service and can support people in practical ways to get the help they need. We can help source care.
“We can also advise people about their rights and challenge funding decisions, for example relating to free NHS care. Finally we can be in someone’s corner and can act as professional attorneys and help manage someone’s affairs.”
By pooling the expertise of both firms, they say they are able to offer clients a unique joined-up approach to long term care planning.
Says Duncan: “While it helps to have built up savings/income that can be used if required, other steps such as organising your legal affairs with an up to date will and a lasting power of attorney are just as important when planning for the future.
“It’s surprising how difficult it is to source highly qualified legal and financial advice in one place and the figures show the scale of the problem facing the country.
“If you want to control the quality of your care you will have to plan – the state will not provide you with a choice. Planning will provide clients and their families with peace of mind.”
Allison concluded: “Together we can offer clients a more complete, rounded picture of the options open to them than they will find anywhere else. We will ensure that no legal or financial stone remains unturned so that we can provide clients with the best overall outcome and lifelong support”.
