Don’t Let a Lifetime of Hard Work Pay for a Broken System: Why It’s Vital to Protect Your Home While You Still Can
You’ve worked hard your whole life. You’ve paid your taxes. You bought your home, raised a family, and saved for retirement. Now, in your later years, you deserve peace of mind—not the creeping anxiety that everything you’ve built could be swallowed by care fees.
But that’s the reality many families now face.
The Hidden Cost of Care: What They Don’t Tell You
The UK’s care system is under strain—and more than ever, it’s privatised, profit-driven, and powered by your assets.
If you ever need residential care, and you own your home or have savings above the threshold (£23,250 in England), you’ll be expected to pay for your own care in full. And care isn’t cheap. It often costs between £800 and £1,500 per week—and it’s not uncommon for people to spend £100,000 to £300,000 or more over a few years in care.
That alone feels harsh. But it gets worse.
You’re Paying More Than Everyone Else
If you’re funding your own care, you may be shocked to discover you’re paying 30–50% more than your neighbours, even though you’re receiving the exact same care. Councils negotiate lower rates for the beds they fund. To make up the shortfall—and to satisfy investor profits—care providers raise fees for people who are paying privately. In other words, you’re subsidising the system.
And the system? It’s not even public anymore.
The Rise of Private Equity in Care
Most of the UK’s largest care home groups are now owned by private equity firms. These firms:
- Buy care providers using borrowed money,
- Load the company with that debt,
- Extract profit via rent, fees, and interest payments,
- While you, the self-funder, pick up the bill.
That means your home—your legacy—is at risk of being used to:
- Pay off someone else’s loan,
- Generate dividends for investors,
- Or simply plug the gap in an underfunded social care system.
All while you lose control of your most valuable asset.
The Message Is Clear: Protect Your Property Now, While You Still Can
If you’re fit, healthy, and mentally capable, you have options—but timing is everything.
One of the most powerful tools at your disposal is a Property Protection Trust (PPT) or Family Protection Trust (FPT). These legal structures can help:
Ring-fence your family home
Avoid your property being assessed for care fees
Protect your wealth for your loved ones
Prevent sideways disinheritance (e.g. if your partner remarries)
Simplify probate and inheritance
Provide peace of mind for the future
Why Professional Advice Matters
These trusts must be set up properly—ideally while you are still healthy and fully mentally capable. Mistakes can invalidate them or make them challengeable by the local authority.
That’s why it’s crucial to speak with a qualified estate planning specialist who understands both the legal landscape and the care funding system.
Your Legacy Is Worth Protecting
You wouldn’t hand your house keys to a stranger. So don’t hand over your home, your savings, or your children’s inheritance to a broken care system—especially not one being drained by profit-hungry investors.
Act while you still have the power.
Get proper advice.
Put protection in place.
And ensure your home stays in the family, where it belongs