Use income and savings

You may have enough income and/or savings to pay your care fees for the foreseeable future. However, many people combine this option with one of the other ways of paying for care. 

Relying on income and savings for paying for care may not be right for you if:

• you’re likely to run out of money, and
• you want to keep control over the type of care you receive – and where it’s given.

If you run out of funds, your local authority has more control over care you receive and where you live. For example, they won’t pay for home care if residential care is more cost-effective.

Advantages of using income and savings

• Low investment risk.
• Readily accessible.
• No fees or charges involved.

Disadvantages of using income and savings

• If interest rates are low for savings, you won’t get a good return on your money.
• You may experience capital depreciation. This can happen if the rate of inflation is higher than the interest rate earned on your savings. This is because the rise in cost of living is higher than the growth of your savings, the value of your capital is eroded in real terms.
• There’s a chance that you’ll run out of money over time.
• If your money runs out, you may lose control of the type of care you receive and where you live.

Find people who can help

If you’re considering using your income and savings to pay your care fees, always get specialist care fees advice. 

A specialist care fees adviser will:

• be qualified and experienced in offering advice for later-life planning
• be able to discuss the best ways to protect your assets
• look at how to make sure your money lasts for as long as is needed, and
• highlight products specifically designed to help with paying care costs that could offer better value in the long run.