Finance
Housingcare.org and EAC FirstStop Advice firmly believe that financial security is an essential ingredient in providing older people with a sense of well-being and independence. Retirement can often mean significant changes in lifestyle which bring with it financial demands or changes which may involve seeking funding, financial advice and an understanding financial products specifically designed to meet certain needs. Here FirstStop Advice has collated a number of areas where such advice might be sought and provides links to our guides and factsheets and the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) ‘Money Advice Service’ website
Paying for Care
Many older people do not meet the criteria for financial assistance from the Local Authority or are choosing to pay for their care independently. Whatever the reason, problems can arise if people privately arrange expensive care services, without looking at the affordability of the fees and long-term effect this may have on their finances. In most cases the amount of money available, often the person’s life savings or the proceeds from the sale of a former home, even when carefully invested, will not provide the income necessary to meet long-term care costs. Therefore, the importance of seeking specialist advice to ensure you are obtaining all the support you are entitled to from the state and that you understand the financial products specifically designed to meet care costs cannot be overstated.
At Home
In a Care Home
Equity Release
Equity release is a method of enabling home owners to use the value of their homes to produce a capital sum or an income while they continue to live there. There are various types of equity release schemes; and there are numerous providers of equity release plans. Every lender can have differing interest rates, loan criteria and customer benefits, each of which need to be thoroughly researched to match your personal needs.
General Financial Advice
Money Helper is a free, independent service, set up by Government and funded by a levy on the financial services industry. Its advice and information is available online, over the phone and face to face and provides tailored money advice to help you make choices throughout your life, whatever your circumstances.
Teach yourself guide from Care & Repair England Silverinks