First up, happy Father’s Day. To all the dads, grandads, dads-to-be, step-dads, biological dads, adoptive dads, and father figures – we appreciate you. Your role as any of these likely entails taking care of small to medium-sized humans – or fully grown adults – in one way or another. And while you’ve probably got some combination of feeding, watering, advising, supporting, and memory making down to a tee, you may not have thought about how later life planning fits in to the ‘dad’ of it all. 

Secondly, if you’re not already familiar with the term, we'd like to introduce you to the concept of the ‘sandwich generation’. The sandwich generation refers to middle-aged adults (often in their 40s and 50s) who are caring for both elderly parents and their own children. 

What’s this got to do with later life planning? 

For the sandwich generation, whether you’ve done any later life planning or not can have a massive impact on you, your children and your parents. That's the whole sandwich, if you’re still following the analogy.  

Starting at the top, planning ahead for your parents’ potential care home fees and later life care is a simple way to bring peace of mind and ease the financial burden. Your parents may have money set aside, or they may not – it's best to figure that out earlier rather than later.  

Care home fees 

If a person ever needs to go into a care home, they’re usually expected to pay their own fees. Residential long-term care is means tested: those whose savings exceed £23,250 are expected to pay for it themselves, unless their specific care needs or financial position means their local authority or NHS Trust pay for some or all of the cost. At the time of writing this, the average cost of a residential care home in the UK is £760 per week (carehome.co.uk), so you can see how quickly savings could disappear. 

It’s also important to think about your own later life care. If you're self-funding, you run the risk of running out of money for your fees. By planning for the future well in advance, you can manage your assets and ensure your estate isn’t swallowed up – making a huge difference to your children’s future too. It’s essential to evaluate the sources of income available to you, as well as any state entitlements, so you can understand the full cost of funding care over a long period. 

Ask the expert 

We’ve got a later life care expert on our team, who’s fully qualified to advise you on the best course of action. Michael Hinett is a Chartered Financial Planner and Associate member of the Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA).   

Book a consultation with Michael today to discuss your circumstances. Your initial chat is free of charge - call it a Father’s Day gift. 

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