The government has said daily living costs would be set at a notional level of £200 per week at 2021-22 prices.
Jamie Jenkins, director of policy at Royal London, adds: “The overall framework made sense in that it targeted help for those most in need, and provided a cap on the catastrophic costs that could be incurred for someone needing care over the long term.
“However, the interaction with means-tested state benefits needed work, in order to avoid the situation where people were saving for care costs and simply losing that in benefits they would otherwise have received."
In the run-up to the general election, it is uncertain how committed the current government is to still keeping the cap. The Labour party’s intentions are also unclear.
Calling for clarity
Jenkins says the removal of the levy means there remains a real gap in the policy for funding social care, despite more than a decade of debate and a string of proposals.
He adds: “While it is still the intention for the care proposals to be introduced in 2025, it seems very likely that this will be reviewed if we see a change in government. It’s a big impact on advisers who want to help people manage their finances through later life.
“Financial advisers simply have to work within the rules as they stand, where most clients will need to consider the funding requirements of care for both themselves and their loved ones, in the absence of any cap on those costs.
“One of the things we have been doing is calling on all [political] parties to be really clear in their manifestos about what they would do with social care. People deserve to know.”
Aegon is another provider that has been calling on political parties to be clear on their plans for social care.
Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon, says: “This is something that affects most people, whether it's personally or whether it's through parents or grandparents. People deserve to know what any future government would do in terms of a deal on social care.
“It's a big impact for society and advisers. [IFAs], particularly those who advise in the retirement space, want to help people manage their finances through later life.
“At the moment, it's difficult for an adviser to advise [on care] with any certainty. Whereas if we had a deal in place...and if we had stability that future of governments wouldn't just changed the rules, you could start planning ahead, and I think that a lot of people would feel a lot of comfort.”
