Delay to £86k care spending cap is a ‘betrayal’ of older people, say critics

The government is under fire for delaying the launch of an £86,000 spending cap on lifelong care until autumn 2025.

The announcement of the two-year delay in today’s fall statement led to an accusation of “betrayal” of elders by a critic.

Another said that ‘many just won’t see the benefit’, claiming the decision could easily cost those who pay for their care an additional £26,000 for each year of delay.

The earlier abolition of a 1.25 per cent increase in National Insurance, intended to fund both the NHS and social care, had already raised fears that plans for a cap announced by Boris Johnson’s government would have to wait.

Reforms originally planned for next autumn would introduce an £86,000 cap on how much a person can spend on care, and raise the threshold to receive support from £23,250 to £100,000.

However, experts say there is a flaw in the plan and that poorer people can still spend most of their wealth, including their home, when they need care, while the better off would forfeit a relatively small portion of their wealth .

The new lifetime expenditure cap will also be based on some, but not all, of people’s private contributions to care, rather than their total costs.

It will exclude anything that local authorities deem unnecessary or ineligible for your care, any financial assistance they provide for your costs, additional payments you may make for premium amenities such as better rooms, day-to-day living expenses or “hotel and accommodation costs’, and any healthcare expenses before October 2025.

Today the Treasury said: ‘To protect high-quality primary public services, access to finance for the NHS and social care will be increased by up to £8bn in 2024-25.

“This will allow the NHS to take action to improve access to emergency and urgent care, reduce waiting times and will allow double the number of people to be discharged from hospital every day from 2024.”

Stephen Lowe, a director of pensions specialist Just Group, said: ‘Millions of people across the country will feel betrayed by the Chancellor’s decision to delay social care reforms for another two years.

“These reforms have been decades in the making and were a flagship pledge of this government’s election manifesto.

“Many people will have counted on this policy being implemented and have now been pushed back to the drawing board.

“Make no mistake, today’s Chancellor’s actions will leave many more elderly people making last-minute decisions about their care arrangements when they and their loved ones are in a point of dire need.”

Steven Cameron, director of pensions at financial services company Aegon, said: ‘Kicking social care with a two-year delay will be a blow to thousands who expect it to go live in October 2023 and will mean that many simply won’t live to see the benefit.

“It could easily cost those paying for their care an extra £26,000 for every year of delay, while also severely depleting the savings of those with assets under £100,000 who would have to wait another two years for promised additional means-tested support.”

He added: ‘The £86,000 cap on ‘eligible’ personal contributions to care costs means those who require care over long periods will no longer be faced with paying indefinite or ‘catastrophic’ costs for their care , which can currently wipe out life savings. .

Eligible co-payments made from October 2023 would count towards the ceiling, but due to the two-year delay, only co-payments made after October 2025 will count.

“Local authorities will determine “eligible” costs, based on what they would pay for the care they deem an individual needs.

“If you’re in a care home you have to pay for ‘daily living expenses’ or ‘board and lodging’ and the new deal sets this at a national nominal charge of £200 per week.”

Cameron explained that if a local authority paid £700 a week to a care home, £200 of this would be considered a day-to-day cost of living, payable indefinitely even under the new agreement.

“£500 a week will count as eligible healthcare costs towards the limit, but with a 52-week delay, individuals will have paid £26,000 before the clock starts ticking under the new deal,” he said.