Under the current system there is both a needs test and a means test to determine if someone is eligible for the State to contribute towards their care needs. However, it has been widely considered to be an unfair system desperately in need of reform for decades.
Finally, in a 2011 report by the Dilnot Commission, it was recommended that although it was considered reasonable for some social care costs to occur in later life, the prospect of selling your home or spending hundreds of thousands wasn’t’ fair and any changes to system ought to reflect this.
After nearly a decade of delays and plans being shelved, in September 2021, the government published proposals to implement a cap on care costs, applying to all adults in receipt of adult social care in England, irrespective of their age. This proposal will come into force on 23rd October 2023.
The proposals would introduce an £86,000 lifetime cap on care costs for all age groups.
The government also proposes that the lower threshold of the means test (the point at which the individual is no longer required to contribute to care costs from their capital assets) will rise from the Care Act’s modest £14,250 to a more generous £20,000, and the upper threshold from £23,250 to £100,000 – this will mean that even more people should be eligible for state support towards the cost of care.
Under the proposals, individuals in residential care settings would still be responsible for their hotel costs, at a standard rate of £200 per week.
On 7th July 2022 the Government published updates to their Operational Guidance, which can be read in full here. This publication represents the second part of the consultation response. This document provides the full government response to the consultation on the ‘operational guidance to implement a lifetime cap on care costs’.
If you wish to discuss how this impacts your Will, please get in touch with a member of our Private Client Team.