Planning ahead, have you thought about your future? Beyond pensions, retirements and holidays. It’s not on the top of our minds when making plans, but have you considered that the reality of you needing some form of long-term care, towards the end of your life, is relatively high? Which in itself can have major implications for you, your loved ones and your finances.

Estimates suggest that in 2018, some 3.5 million of the UK’s 10 million over-65s needed help with one or more daily living tasks¹. That’s 35%, or more than one in three, of this cohort. The likelihood is that a significant proportion of us will either need care or be affected by someone close to us needing it. This could be as a care recipient or a caregiver, or by being impacted by the cost of paying for care. There’s still a significant percentage of people who wrongly believe that long- term care is covered by the NHS. If people fail to understand the likelihood that they’ll need long-term care, they won’t consider the financial implications of having to pay for that care.

The crucial action to take is to seek professional financial advice at the earliest possible stage in life. This is not necessarily with a view to specifically fund any long-term care you might need, but rather to ensure that you’re prepared for a broad range of eventualities, either good or bad. If you can make it part of your thinking, your adviser can build that into your plan.

Lester Brunt can help by providing a review of your current position and assessing your future options for the long term. If you would like to find out more, you can schedule a consultation on 07507443388 or email bodie.dove@sjpp.co.uk