Care Fees Planning

Residential care in the UK costs upwards of £50,000 a year. For nursing care, that figure is often higher. And unlike most financial risks, the need for care is both unpredictable in timing and potentially open-ended. Local authority funding thresholds are low, and many families find they are largely self-funding.

Planning ahead does not mean expecting the worst. It means ensuring that if care is needed, whether for you or for a parent, the decisions have been thought through in advance rather than made under pressure.

Understanding the funding rules: what the state will and will not cover, and under what circumstances. Reviewing your assets and income to model how different funding scenarios would play out over time. Advising on financial products designed specifically for care fee funding, including immediate needs annuities. Helping families plan ahead so that care, if needed, does not create unnecessary financial disruption to the wider estate. Supporting adult children who are navigating care decisions for an ageing parent.

The earlier care fee planning begins, the more options there are. Arrangements put in place calmly, in advance, are almost always more effective than decisions made in the middle of a crisis. This is an area where getting advice early genuinely makes a difference.

Every year, thousands of families across Northern Ireland face an impossible situation. A loved one develops care needs that can no longer be managed at home.

What follows is a process that many find confusing, inconsistent, and deeply unfair. The system that determines who pays for care and how much operates very differently in Northern Ireland than anywhere else in the UK. People with serious, complex healthcare needs, conditions that would be fully funded elsewhere, are being required to deplete savings, sell family homes, and bear costs that would never have fallen to them in other parts of the UK.

Later life planning addresses the financial issues that arise in later years, including the cost of care. Regulated advice in this area covers two situations: funding advice when care is immediately needed, and planning carried out in advance to help preserve choice and prepare families for future costs.

At Foursquare, we are aware of an increasing number of clients and their family members who either need care themselves or are providing unpaid care to an older adult, often a parent living with disability or mobility difficulties.

Foursquare has developed a plain-language guide specifically for Northern Ireland, covering needs assessments, financial assessments, what the state will and will not pay for, and the key thresholds that determine whether you are likely to be self-funding. This is tailored guidance on your options — not financial advice — and is regularly updated to reflect changes in policy and legislation.

→ Read the NI Care Guide

We are also pleased to provide access to a service from our partner, My Care Consultant — an independent care navigation company. My Care Consultant has recently launched a web-based service called My Care Hub, designed to support those in need of care and their families, unpaid carers, and attorneys.

If you need care, or are thinking about the prospect of caring for an older family member, My Care Hub provides a significant amount of practical and financial information, including guidance on:

My Care Hub highlights both financial and practical support that you or the person you care for may be entitled to.

A useful plain-English guide to care funding in the UK, produced by My Care Consultant.

Download: Getting the Care You Need (PDF)