Overwhelmed, under-prepared, emotionally involved and left with no time to consider their options. This is the damning conclusion from academic research that has been exploring how people make decisions about long-term care.
This emotive and controversial topic has recently featured heavily in the media, with the lack of reforms, feelings of unfairness and disparity, and spiralling costs. As life expectancy increases, so does the number of people who need care, and those who provide it are thin on the ground - especially post-Covid, and the casual dismissal of unvaccinated carers who were already overworked, underpaid and in short supply.
Previous research suggests a low take-up of professional financial advice regarding long-term care, which could explain why there are so few advisers who actively advise or specialise in this area – Society of Later Life Advisers offers an accreditation, which less than 1,000 advisers have managed to achieve it over the last 13 years.
However, there are indications that the need for good financial advice will only grow along with longevity – compounded by the lack of reforms, the increase in registered powers of attorney, and the continued complexity of the system.
This means more and more families are likely to navigate the care system, and the financial, emotional, and physical implications of making less-than-optimal decisions during this expensive journey can have long-term and irreversible effects.
It is crucial that more advisers start to actively work in this area, in both pre-empting and addressing care fee shortfalls.
The landscape is changing, and advisers need to evolve and adapt to stay relevant. What was once a stale, soulless and figure-orientated planning exercise has become an all-encompassing role that promotes communication, coaching and empathy.
Due to this, an understanding of vulnerability and the impact that this can have on a client’s decision-making abilities is so important – as it is said, people ask those in the wheelchair how they are, but rarely wonder about the person pushing it.
The trouble is that so many of our clients are pushing either literal or theoretical wheelchairs, with the FCA estimating that 46 per cent of people are vulnerable in some way due to their circumstances – whether that is caring responsibilities, poor health, lack of financial resilience or divorce, amongst many other factors.
When my grandad’s dementia made it unsafe for him to live alone anymore, it became obvious that what should be a set of practical decisions for his attorneys, was being marred by indecision, inertia and inexperience. It is not a criticism – how can you be expected to make good decisions about something you know nothing about, especially when it comes laced with such huge financial and welfare implications?
So, when I got accepted on a master’s degree course at the University of Gloucestershire, I knew I wanted to explore how people make financial decisions about care, and what stops them from seeking or taking financial advice.
It allowed me to ask lots of questions and understand what people are actually going through. When carers and attorneys were asked how they felt during the process; one respondent confessed they felt “stressed, uncertain and helpless - it came out of the blue and, given the onset of the pandemic, was a time of great change and challenge anyway”. Sadly, many responses were along the same lines.
