Symponia hits out at sliding scale switch for care
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In its green paper on long-term care released last month, the Government set out options to help cover the rising cost of care, including a plan for pensioners to pay £20,000 either at retirement or after death.
But last week, Health Secretary Andy Burnham said the compulsory charge could be introduced on a sliding scale. This means it would be lower for lower-earners, but middle and higher-income earners might have to pay more than £20,000 for a service they may never use.
Burnham said: "It would be possible to vary how much people had to pay according to what they could afford - what savings or assets they had."
Symponia joint managing director Jeremy Davies says: "Introducing a sliding scale does not sound any different to the system we have now whereby people with more than £23,500 in savings have to pay for 100 per cent of their care fees which is unfair."
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