The Chartered Insurance Institute is taking part in Talk Money Week by encouraging members to start a conversation with their family and friends about later life and care funding.
Talk Money Week is an annual awareness campaign coordinated by the Money and Pensions Service and held from November 8 to 12.
The CII said to kickstart conversations about later life and care, it has emailed insurance professionals asking them to share its ‘Guide to Later Life: Starting the Conversation’ and arrange a conversation about this important issue with their own friends and family.
It said talking openly about money can have a huge impact on tackling money worries and was important for overall health and relationships.
The impact of Covid-19 has made it more important than ever to start conversations about later life resilience to look after financial, social and mental wellbeing.
Matthew Connell, director of policy and public affairs at the CII, said: “Starting conversations about later life and care funding sooner rather than later enables you to focus on enjoying your life in the sure knowledge that you have the appropriate plans in place to deal with later-life needs.
“It is never too early to start planning for later life but sadly all too many people every year find it is now too late to widen their options for care as they sleepwalked into a funding crisis.”
The CII s calling for conversations about care to take place this week after the professional body’s survey of 2,000 consumers in December 2020 found people who discussed care plans with their wider family were reassured from talking over the issues and coming up with a plan.
Talk Money Week aims to reduce the stigma around money by encouraging conversations among families, friends, neighbours, customers, colleagues and communities.
Caroline Siarkiewicz, chief executive of the Money and Pensions Service, said: “As we continue to respond to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, financial wellbeing remains key to the UK’s recovery: a financially healthy nation is good for individuals, communities, business, and the economy.
“Talk Money Week provides a key opportunity for the nation to break the taboo of discussing money and finances.
"We are pleased to see so many organisations encouraging conversations about money - from pocket money to pensions - to help people across the country make better informed and more positive decisions about their finances.”
sonia.rach@ft.com
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