Editor: After reading your recent article on the looming senior housing crisis, I think there’s more to be said on the matter from a consumer data perspective.
Regarding pricing, there is a generational issue at play. Through a survey, we found affordability to be 10% more important when considering our own needs than it is when looking at care options for loved ones.
The implication is that younger people cannot see how their care will be funded and there is a financing time bomb on the horizon. Policymakers and providers need to make detailed plans for how different groups of the population will fund their care, and what that care will look like.
Looking at savings and property values, it is easy to understand which demographics and areas of the UK will find themselves in premium facilities, or be able to stay at home and fund sufficient domiciliary care.
But our survey responses show how incredibly difficult it is to assess how less affluent groups will access later-living accommodation. We need more clarity on what the realistic options are for those who will need more local authority funding. The finance options available are something we are working with providers to improve, but the picture is currently cloudy at best.
Combine the cost-of-living crisis, people’s concerns on price and cuts in council funding, and you can see we have some serious hurdles. Only the data can really drive decision-making on where and what senior housing schemes are, delivering the clarity we need and future-proofing the sector.
The market is a complex one and becoming increasingly so for consumers, operators and the government alike.
Tom Clarke, senior care lead, CACI
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