Thousands of elderly being forced to sell their homes

A leading charity for the elderly has recently stated that thousands of elderly homeowners in the UK are being forced to sell their homes each year in order to cope with the cost of going into a care home.

It is estimated that more than sixty thousand elderly homeowners each year are being forced to sell their property so that they can then pay to go into a care home, leaving them with no assets and nothing to pass on to their loved ones.

The rising number of elderly Brits means that the number of elderly having to sell their homes to get into care is also rising, according to the charity, Counsel and Care.

The state is therefore ending up with the money of these elderly homeowners, who are left with little or nothing to leave to their families. The charity is now looking at calling for changes to ease the problem for those elderly people that do not pass the state means test and therefore have to foot bills of around £500 a week themselves.

An official from the charity stated: ‘Families want the right care and the right deal. An increasing number of older people and their families are faced with the prospect of huge care home bills which have to be paid for by selling their home. ‘This has been made even harder by the current economic crisis.’

Although the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, did promise to look at reforms when it came to care for the elderly the green paper that he promised has already been delayed by a year and a half. Experts have stated that it will cost billions of pounds to make improvements to the care system and to stop unfairness amongst the middle classes who own their own homes.

Tags: elderly brits, Local Government, Disability, care, elderly finance troubles, care home, Geriatrics, council and care