Only one in 10 of us have or will make provision for care by our 60s, despite becoming aware of the need to fund later-life care as early as our 30s, new research shows.
This startling figure comes from the first stage of research for the Insuring Futures Ageing Population campaign, run by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII).
A survey of more than 2,000 consumers showed that funding care provision is not even among the top six financial priorities discussed with family members.
Discussions around care provision rank below unexpected expenses, getting on the property ladder and pension provision. This is despite a 2019 Age UK report showing that by the end of 2019, one in seven (1.5 million) of the total older population had care needs; and the charity projecting that if governments fail to act, this could increase to 2.1 million by 2030.
Just 31% of those aged between 18 and 75 who were polled for the Insuring Futures campaign survey between September and October 2020 said they have made, were looking to make in the future, or have made provision in the past for later-life care. Only 11% of all those surveyed are making provision for their needs now.
A key finding of the survey was that those who had engaged in conversations about later life with family members found real benefits in doing so, including avoiding problems and confusion in the future, finding value in getting their family’s opinion and having the reassurance that plans have been made.
The CII’s Insuring Futures initiative will use these conversations to produce guidance and support for professionals around:
- How we design products and communications for older people that resonate with the way they live their lives.
- How professionals can structure conversations with clients that are more relevant to the risks and aims they have.
- How advisers can give advice to their clients’ whole family, rather than just the individual, as they grow older and their plans become more entwined with the needs of their family.
Find out more about the campaign by contacting: sophia.kleanthous@cii.co.uk
