The government’s plans to limit how much an individual in England will pay for their own social care have been delayed by two years.
In the Autumn Statement today (November 17), chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the cap will now come into effect in 2025.
The reforms were first outlined in September 2021 by then-prime minister Boris Johnson, and were due to come into effect in October 2023.
The cap will ensure that nobody pays more than £86,000 for social care in their lifetime.
There will be a floor of £100,000 in assets.
This means the government will step in to pay an individual’s social care bill beyond this cap.
Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon UK, said: “Kicking the social care can down the road again with a two year delay will come as a blow to thousands expecting it to go live in October 2023 and will mean many simply won’t live to see the benefit.
"It could easily cost those paying towards their care an additional £26,000 for every year of delay, while also sorely depleting the savings of those with assets under £100,000 who’ll need to wait another two years for promised extra means tested support.”
Hunt said additional funding of £1bn next year and £1.7bn in 2024 will be allocated to adult social care, and will increase the NHS budget by £3.3bn each year for the next two years.
Currently, those with an overall wealth of less than £23,250 are supported by the government for social care costs.
Last summer, as rumours began to swirl of the cap cost, advisers were split on what this could look like.
Some providers and advisers said it should have been set at £50,000 whereas others wanted to see it set at £100,000.
A cap on cost has been suggested for a while. It was first put on the table a decade ago by Sir Andrew Dilnot and while legislation was passed to enable the government to cap the cost of care it was never implemented.
sally.hickey@ft.com
