1 million families sell their homes to fund residential care

According to the insurance company NFU Mutual, which polled individual families asking them about their experiences of paying for the residential care of elderly family members, over 1 million families have to sell their homes in order to pay for care. These findings were announced less than 2 weeks after a separate study revealed that another 2 million people – a quarter of retired homeowners – are already expecting to sell their homes to pay for future care.

According to the insurance company NFU Mutual, which polled individual families asking them about their experiences of paying for the residential care of elderly family members, over 1 million families have to sell their homes in order to pay for care. These findings were announced less than 2 weeks after a separate study revealed that another 2 million people – a quarter of retired homeowners – are already expecting to sell their homes to pay for future care.

These stark warnings run contrary to UK Government figures, which state that only around 40,000 people a year in England have to sell the family home to pay for care every year; 200,000 over five years. But this figure is based only on those who enter residential care with limited savings; it does not include those who are planning to sell, or who have already sold their homes.

The results of the survey highlight the urgent need to make people aware of other options for care, such as live-in care which takes place in the familiar surroundings of the individual’s own home.

Individuals or families wishing to explore live-in care as an alternative to residential care need to investigate all their options for funding, especially as state funding can meet part of the cost in some cases.

Download our funding factsheet to find out more about how to pay for elderly care in your own home.