The first port of call when it comes to retirement planning, according to Mr King, is to arrange lasting power of attorney for both financial as well as health and care decisions. Advisers should also establish if the client is entitled to benefits such as the Attendance Allowance, he added.
For Mr Lowe, exploring lifestyle changes that can be made to mitigate the likelihood of requiring care in the future should form a part of retirement planning.
Those who still have some way to go until they reach later life can also build capital via tax-efficient pensions and Isas.
For those who require immediate care, an immediate care annuity is a good option that pays a regular income towards a person’s care costs for the rest of their lives, Tish Hanifan, founder of The Society of Later Life Advisers, said.
Martin Bamford, managing director of Surrey-based Informed Choice, said: “People have historically sold their property to fund care, but doing this can cause huge problems when it comes to inheritance planning. We help our clients ring fence assets to go towards the likely cost of care and inheritance separately.”
Ms Hanifan said: “For people who want to receive care in the comfort of their own home, they may actually have to look at their home to provide capital for them to do so. I think equity release providers can be much more imaginative with their products."
The Care Act is widely recognised as the most significant shake-up in social care law in England for those aged over 60 years. It will introduce a cap on care costs to £72,000 for people aged 65 and over as well as for younger adults with disabilities.
The ceiling will not, however, cover the cost of board and lodging in the home, but the government is expected to fix the national figure for board and lodging at £12,000 a year.
At present, individuals with assets of more than £23,250 are illegible for financial support according to a sliding scale from local councils with their care cost, but this limit rises to £118,000 under the Act.
The Act was due to come into force by April 2016, but the government pushed back the date to April 2020, after local authorities wrote to the Department of Health asking for a delay because of the additional burden they faced following it.
However, the first phase of the legislation came into effect in April 2015, introducing measures including a national eligibility criteria for care and support – removing power from councils to set their own criteria – as well as a deferred payment agreement for care costs.
While the reform will be a boon to some people who are struggling to pay for care in later life, it is unlikely to bridge the gap between state provision and the cost to the individual according to Mr Bamford.
