MPs press for products that fund LTC costs

16 February 2012 | By Steve Tolley

MPs are calling on the Government to create a viable market for financial products that fund long-term care costs in the wake of the Dilnot report.

Dilnot’s recommendations, published last July, call for a cap of between £25,000 and £50,000 on the amount an individual pays for social care costs before the state steps in. It was hoped that this limited individual liability would help create a market for financial products.

In a report into social care, published last week, the health select committee says the Government should accept the proposal but it urges the Government to set out how it will make sure products are available to cover the costs placed on individuals.

The committee says: “The Government should clarify the likely market for pre-funded insurance, equity release and immediate needs annuities as well as pension-related products and other products. It should also articulate how it will work with the industry to stimulate the market for those products.”

Despite claims from care minister Paul Burstow that there is no funding crisis in social care, the report says the Government must face the issue of the funding gap.

Safe Home Income Plans director general Andrea Rozario says: “This is extremely important. How are the Government and financial services industry to come up with solutions to funding care without a full idea of the scale of the problem?”

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