For Immediate distribution
31 January 2011
Responding to a lack of reliable and comprehensive information regarding care funding and advice, Partnership launches Payingforcare.co.uk – which provides a new impartial, comprehensive and consumer friendly website to provide information on all aspects of care funding from local authority assessments through to charity helplines. Its unique feature is a combination of a range of advice alongside a search engine to indentify an appropriately qualified financial adviser. • 69% turn to the internet for information on care for older people*
• In 2009 there were 29 million Google searches on paying for care and related search terms.
• 79% think that not enough is done to tell people about the care option available*
• 25% had no idea who to contact for advice**
• Just 11% would contact their local authority for advice and information about care fees, with only 4% contacting a financial adviser and 3% a care home. **
• Just 5% believe the social care system is easy to navigate*
• 76% do not know about any of the funding products available to fund care**
Commenting on PAYINGFORCARE.CO.UK’s launch, CHRIS HORLICK, Managing Director of Care at PARTNERSHIP, the UK’s largest provider of Long Term Care annuities, said: “Over the past year it has become apparent that there is a lack of reliable and comprehensive information surrounding care funding and advice. We see this as a serious barrier to people accessing the information they need to make sensible informed choices at a confusing and difficult time in their lives.
“For people seeking to make sense of how to fund Long Term Care, information about all aspects of Long Term Care and particularly where to get appropriate financial advice is critical. Currently there is a chronic lack of awareness about which care costs people will be required to pay and how much the State will pick up, the typical costs of care, how long people will live in care and where to get advice. Without this information it is almost impossible for people to plan to meet their care costs.”
“That is why we have worked in co-operation with many charities and expert advisers in the care sector to develop PAYINGFORCARE.CO.UK. We believe this is a crucial step in addressing the care funding crisis by providing individuals with up-to-date and relevant information. We hope this will allow consumers to make informed choices concerning their care and provide access to professional advice for what can be one of the biggest decisions in an elderly person’s life.”
“Perhaps the most important facility on the site is the ability to locate an independent financial adviser who is not only properly qualified to advice on long term care funding but also is a member of the Society of Later Life Advisers. This clarity of sign-posting is not readily available elsewhere.”
Other areas covered by the site are:
Local authority’s advice
Where to get appropriately qualified financial advice
Cost of care calculator
Care home finder
Interactive Q&A section
In addition it provides videos and an expert panel providing practical and credible help from the perspective of charities, care homes, financial advisers and from the view point of someone with a power of attorney.
Commenting on the launch of
PAYINGFORCARE.CO.UK
Debbie Harris, Founder BEST CARE HOMES
"I believe we need as much information as possible about the best care available; including where to find the best care homes, how we assess whether that care home will suit our needs and how we are going to pay for the care. Many people embark on an urgent search for a care home, having had little or no time to prepare for the event. It is therefore vital to get in touch with experts in the field and use their experience to facilitate the choice you will make".
Caroline Bernard, Acting Chief Executive, COUNSEL AND CARE “Counsel and Care is delighted about the launch of payingforcare.co.uk. It is important that there are as many independent, accessible sources of information as possible and payingforcare.co.uk assists both self funders and state funded people alike in finding out about their care options.”
Imelda Redman, CBE Chief Executive, CARERS UK “Every year we hear from thousands of families who are distressed about how they will pay for long-term care. The current system is complicated and quality information is sparse. This site will really help those families navigate the complicated maze of information and rules and assist them in finding the right solution for them and their loved ones”
Peter Barnett, Joint Chair, COALITION FOR BETTER CARE “Such a site, offering information and guidance on this important issue, is badly needed and ‘Payingforcare.co.uk’ looks as though it will fill that role admirably”
Nicky Cave, Managing Director, ELDERCARE
“Analogy, if you buy a house you know there is a product – mortgages. If you are looking to fund retirements, there is pensions. And you know you need to get advice for both. In the area of long term care, people don’t know that there is advice to get or financial products that might meet their needs. So they don’t look for it so they need clear sign-posting. And if they look on the Internet, they need to readily find something that tells them of all the options there are. If you have assets, you should get financial advice and in the end have money left for inheritance as well as peace of mind. And this is where Payingforcare.co.uk fills the gap that is out there at the moment in terms of finding information.”
John Galvin, Chief Executive, ELDERLY ACCOMMODATION COUNCIL “I think the new website is very well laid out. The information is accessible, the content well judged and it’s easy to read”
Martin Green, Managing Director, ENGLISH COMMUNITY CARE ASSOCIATION (ECCA) “Choice is only possible with information and advice, and the Paying for Care website is an excellent place to get both.”
Phil Spiers, Acting Chief Executive, FIRSTSTOP ADVICE “FirstStop welcomes this initiative and is pleased to support www.payingforcare.co.uk in delivering the advice and information older people need so much at this very vulnerable time of life”
Ben Black, Managing Director, MY FAMILY CARE Understanding how to pay for care remains the single biggest barrier for thousands of families - a site like Paying for Care has been a long time coming and I am thrilled it has finally arrived".
Des Kelly, CEO, NATIONAL CARE FORUM “The National Care Forum are keen to see information about the funding of care made widely available and this website provides a valuable contribution.”
Malcolm Austin, POWER OF ATTORNEY “This site has lots of useful information for someone going into a care home and for their relatives. You can find out about all your options for paying for care fees which is important so that you don’t spend all your capital on the fees for the home. This site can only help.”
Ian Turner, Chair, REGISTERED NURSING HOME ASSOCIATION
“The Paying for Care website is most welcome as a resource to allow people to determine how they will pay for their care both now and in the future. This often mis-understood area needs better information made available to the public to allow them to plan for their own needs and this website makes a very positive contribution to providing that information.”
Tish Hanifan, Joint Chair, SOCIETY OF LATER LIFE ADVISERS
“Solla is delighted to support the new payingforcare.co.uk website . It is an important development in helping make finding the right information about care funding less complex”.
Peter Randall, General Manager, UNITED KINGDOM HOME CARE ASSOCIATION (UKHCA) “A clear guide that provides a well-defined choice of self-funding options”
*according to research conducted by national charity Counsel and Care, in a Survey of 1,300 UK adults (ranging from 18-90) from 6 September 2010
** GfK NOP interviewed 467 adults aged over 50 across the UK by telephone on 26-28 March 2010. Weights were applied to the data to bring it into line with national profiles.
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Media Enquiries: Jim Boyd,
Director of Corporate Affairs
0797 345 8675 / 0845 108 7240
Partnership
jim.boyd@partnership.co.uk David Andrews Senior Consultant – Director
07941 255855 / 01273 725288
David Andrews Media Ltd
david@davidandrewsmedia.co.uk About Partnership: Partnership is a specialist provider of financial solutions for people with health/ lifestyle conditions, as well as those suffering from a serious medical impairment. Partnership was the first company in the UK to offer higher retirement incomes by taking account of people’s health and lifestyle conditions. It has been a consistent innovator developing this sector by championing the needs of those with even modestly reduced life expectancies.
Partnership has led the way in providing products designed specifically for individuals whose health and lifestyle is likely to result in a reduced life expectancy. Partnership is expert in the field of medical underwriting and has a unique in-house data set.
Partnership believes that its years of accumulated data and knowledge gives it a unique understanding of the impact of health and lifestyle choices on longevity. This, in turn, enables it to offer the most accurate assessment of a client’s life expectancy and therefore offer the fairest price to them. Partnership has a comprehensive offering in the retirement sector and offers a complete range of Enhanced Annuity solutions, from clients who smoke or have minor health impairments, through to serious conditions such as cancer.
Partnership is the largest provider of annuities for Long Term Care funding in the UK, with 80% of the market, and also offers specialist Protection solutions for clients who have been declined cover from standard providers. Partnership offers a firm commitment to supporting advisers in growing their business.
Partnership was this year’s winner of the 'Long-term Care Provider' award at Health Insurance Awards and won this year’s Simply Biz ‘Annuity Provider of the Year’ award. It has been awarded a 5 Star rating at the prestigious Financial Adviser Service Awards, was judged “Best Enhanced Annuity Provider” at the Moneyfacts Awards and achieved an ‘eee-rating’ (the highest possible) for its web-based enhanced annuity platform in the e-Excellence Awards.
www.partnership.co.uk Partnership is a trading style of The Partnership Group of Companies, which includes Partnership Life Assurance Company Limited (registered in England and Wales No. 05465261), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Registered office: Sackville House, 143 – 149 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 6BN.