ProtectionAug 7 2014

Care home costs up 54% more than pensioner incomes

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The annual cost of a room in a care home has increased by £299 on average over the last year, 54 per cent more than the average £194 income gain enjoyed by pensioners over the same period, according to Prestige Nursing Plus Care.

The average cost of a single room in a UK residential care home has risen to £28,666 a year, more than double the average pensioner’s income of £13,993, leaving older people facing an income shortfall of £282 per week or £14,673 annually, should they need to pay for residential care.

Pensioners’ annual income gains add up to just £785 over the last two years, while care home costs have risen by £1,262, with the gap between incomes and care home costs up by £9 a week or £477 a year compared with 2012.

The south east has the most expensive care homes, averaging £32,760 per year, with the biggest annual increase in care costs of any UK region, up £712.

Although pensioners in the south east enjoy the highest average incomes, at £15,184, theirs is the only region where pensioner incomes have fallen since 2013.

This shortfall is 71 per cent more than in the north east, where care home costs are the lowest at £24,648, £8,112 lower than in the south east, and where pensioners have also seen a 2.6 per cent increase in their income over the last year.

Scotland is the only region to have seen a fall in the cost of a care home over the last year, with annual fees down on average to £27,768.

Jonathan Bruce, managing director of Prestige Nursing Plus Care, said: “It is no surprise that older people often feel pressured into relying on family or selling their homes if the need for long term care becomes a reality.

“The widening gulf between costs and incomes threatens to place even more pressure on unpaid carers as pensioners struggle to make their incomes stretch to fund round-the-clock support.

Mr Bruce suggested that care at home is often far more cost effective than residential care.

He said: “Promoting the role of domiciliary care is vital so that vulnerable people can access the support they need at a price they can afford.

“Of course, any form of care still comes at a cost and the issue of funding is further complicated by pension changes resulting from the Budget.

“There is a huge potential for confusion over how greater access to pension savings will impact on means-testing for care, and we need far more clarity to avoid leaving thousands of pensioners struggling to find the funds to pay for help.”