Erosh has welcomed a range of measures introduced by the Chancellor in the 2013 Budget aimed to support older people and boost social care.
The Chancellor had already announced that the introduction of the single-tier pension will be brought forward by one year to 2016. This will lead to increased national insurance contributions (NICS) and £4.3bn of this was earmarked to fund the costs of long-term social care.
The cap for social care will become £72,000 from 2016. This means any costs above this figure will be met by the Government not the individual. The Chancellor also confirmed that the means-tested threshold on residential care will increase from £23,000 to £118,000.
Rebecca Mollart, director of policy at erosh, said: “We are pleased to see that the Government has pledged a commitment to helping people who want to plan and save for old age, and acknowledged that many are facing rising care costs.
“However, the social care funding reform will mean that many people will still be faced with the tough decision of having to sell their own home to pay for care costs, but the cap of £72,000 is lower and will be introduced sooner than expected along with a raise in the threshold for the means test for residential care to £118,000.
“We will not see these changes until April 2016 so the reform of social care is still a way off but it is a step in the right direction to see the Government accepting the recommendations of the Dilnot Report and acting on those to protect the needs of vulnerable older people.”
You can access the full Budget report here.
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