Social Care Cap Will Help The Rich, Warns James O'Brien
22 May 2017, 11:58 | Updated: 22 May 2017, 12:22
Theresa May has announced a U-turn on their social care policy, by adding a cap on total costs. But that will just help the rich, warns James O'Brien.
Speaking in Wales, Mrs May said: "This manifesto says that we will come forward with a consultation paper, a government green paper.
"And that consultation will include an absolute limit on the amount people have to pay for their care costs."
But James O'Brien warns that the richer you are, the more you will benefit from that.
James said: "The caller who stuck with me the most was Angela, describing the £140,000 house that her and her late husband worked and scrimped and saved to buy in Peterborough because they wanted to pass it on to their only child.
"They worked and because they had her quite late in life, they wanted to be sure that if they weren't around to look after her personally, then they would be able to leave behind some money to ensure that she was insulated from some of the colder realities of life.
"And Angela has already been widowed so their fears in a sense of not being around arguably are coming true. If they bring in a cap on how much can be paid, for house is worth £135,000.
"Unless the cap is pretty much the same as the threshold, she's going to lose all the money, all that little extra. She'll keep £100,000, but she's going to lose 30% of what she was hoping to leave to her child.
"Whereas, depending on where the cap is, someone with a couple of million quid is going to get help."
Speaking to James, Angela said that she will give up a greater percentage of her assets to pay for care than someone who has a more expensive house.
