‘Who cares? Exploring attitudes toward social care in the UK’ examines the UK public’s attitudes towards saving for long-term care in retirement.
The research highlights that there are critical challenges in public preparedness for retirement and social care. In particular, knowledge gaps and a lack of proactive planning are leaving many people at risk of not being prepared for later life care needs.
The survey found that:
• Two-thirds (64%) of UK adults think that social care is funded mostly by the individual, yet 77% have taken no steps to prepare for their own long-term care needs.
• Over half of people (57%) report limited or no understanding of how the social care system works. Around 61% are not confident that they will be able to cover the cost of long-term care.
• Caregiving burdens are significant with 38% of respondents providing or expecting to provide unpaid carer support, and 25% of current carers dedicating over 40 hours weekly.
The report sets out targeted actions across age groups that policymakers, educators, employers, and financial institutions can take to help people plan for the future. These include national awareness campaigns to focus on the cost of care and importance of early planning, promoting long-term care insurance, and flexible pension options to combine workplace pensions with personal investments. The IFoA will be submitting these insights and proposals into the Casey Commission.
Tom Kenny, Chair of the IFoA social care working party, said: “It is concerning that so many people do not understand their retirement investment options or the social care system, when many come to depend on it later in life. In addition, the expectation that caregiving burdens may fall to relatives, many of whom may be ageing themselves, needs to be addressed as caregivers will likely face their own retirement and health challenges. We have set out a series of pragmatic steps that can be taken aimed at helping people during different stages of their life, which would help to meet the current and future needs of the population as they approach retirement age. It will take all of us – industry, policymakers, educators and employers – working together to ensure people are better prepared for retirement and older age.”
Paul Sweeting, IFoA President, said: “As people approach retirement and face the prospect of navigating social care, it is important that they feel prepared. Worryingly, this survey indicates that, for a large number of people, this is not the case. This research is an example of how actuaries can use their skillset to help address some of the most pressing issues impacting society. The evidence-based solutions proposed in this report will help to empower people to make informed decisions at all stages of life.”
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