Social Care News

Gap between care home bills and incomes widens, new figures reveal

The gap between pensioners' incomes and care home bills has widened - with figures for Wales, where pensioner incomes are among the lowest in the UK, showing the widest disparity.

Across the UK bills have risen by more than nine per cent in the last two years, at a time when the fees councils pay to care homes for those who are unable to fund their own care are being increasingly squeezed as economic cuts bite.

According to a report published by Prestige Nursing, a care agency with centres across the UK, the average cost of a room in a residential care home is now more than double the average pensioner income.

• Its survey found the average cost of a residential care home place had increased by 3.5% in the last year and by nearly 10% (9.3%) in the last two years.

Michelle Mitchell, director general of Age UK, said: "The underfunding of social care is already having a devastating impact on frail older people and their families.

"More and more are having to pay a greater share of the cost of social care, either because they have been pushed out of the system as a result of tightened eligibility thresholds or because of increased fees and charges.

“This is an area of real concern,” she added.

Regional differences

The figures show the gap between pensioner income and care home fees is widest in Wales - where average pensioner incomes are £12,948 but annual care home fees averaged £25,012 in 2012 and £28,464 in 2013. The gap between cost and income was £15,516, up from £12,064 in 2012.

• See the full table of regional differences in fees and incomes on the Prestige Nursing website

Jonathan Bruce, managing director of Prestige Nursing Care, said: “As the cost of care continues to outpace pensioner income, pensioners’ shrinking savings pots are contributing to the worrying financial conundrum of how later life
care can be funded.

“In trying economic times, relying on family members to foot the bill isn’t always a viable option, while the governments’ purse strings are tighter than ever with £11.5billion of spending cuts planned.

“While the government’s proposed care cap [in England] will help some older people, they will still have to incur a significant financial outlay to reach the cap.”

• Care home bills rise by £2,400 in two years - read the story on the Telegraph's website

Other figures at a glance

• The South East became the most expensive region for elderly care homes this
  year, overtaking the South West with an annual cost of £32,048.
• A room in the South East is £7,405 more per year than in the North East where
  prices are lowest.
• The North East also boasts the smallest care cost gap of £10,602, which is almost £7,000 less than the biggest care cost gap
  of £17,579 in the South West.
• The East of England was the only region to experience a decrease in the care cost
  gap, which fell from £17,004 to £15,699 this year.