Social Care Service

[Highway Man]

And yes, I know that round the clock care is expensive, but I'm also not so naive as to think the private providers aren't making a healthy return.

Nowt gets past you does it, it's a business and that's the idea of them to make a profit. Be a great business running at a loss.

 

[Murdochcat]

It’s simple.

Everybody who has an income, earned, benefits or investment income, over £20k should pay 1.25% and this is irrespective of their age

 

[Ihavenojob]

It’s simple.

Everybody who has an income, earned, benefits or investment income, over £20k should pay 1.25% and this is irrespective of their age

So if you pay this 1.25% you never have to pay care fees? Seems OK by me. Cheaper than 20% or 40% income tax.

 

[Mottie]

You're pension fund has grown because of investments made by its managers.

Wouldn’t be much of a pension fund if those that managed it didn't invest in profit making businesses.

Some of which will likely have been into lucrative areas like social care.

Likely? Why? You’re just guessing now to suit your narrative.

And yes, I know that round the clock care is expensive, but I'm also not so naive as to think the private providers aren't making a healthy return.

Really? I thought they were doing it out of the goodness of their heart. What’s wrong with a "healthy" return? Would you rather they made a poor return, broke even or suffered a loss instead? Businesses are supposed to make a healthy return, that’s the whole point of them!

What do you think happened here then - how come such a high percentage of private providers in the "lucrative" social care industry have closed their doors?

Key Closure Statistics and Trends

• • New business failures: Recent analysis of Companies House data covering care sector businesses set up between January 2021 and December 2025 found that 39.2% (25,201 out of 64,190) have already closed their doors. [1]
  • Residential nursing rates: Residential nursing care homes face a high failure rate of 43.2% among newer ventures. [1]
  • Regulator-enforced closures: According to research tracking Care Quality Commission (CQC) data, 816 care homes representing 19,918 registered beds were involuntarily closed by the regulator in England since 2011, with 804 of those closures occurring in for-profit facilities. [1]

That doesn’t seem to me to be the sort of industry a pension fund manager would be looking to invest into.

 

[Mottie]

Duplicate post.

 

[Elsa TLC]

Duplicate post.

Can you be a bit quicker next time.
I read that twice.

 

[blup]

Burnam’s got to tax pensioners more or reduce the triple lock, if improvements in social care are to be funded.

 

[Deluks]

There are two problems here:
- the Cost is huge, there is a question on whether the state can provide it more cheaply for those needing funding.
- Lots of people deliberately dispose of their assets to qualify, while others burn down their assets to pay, while getting the same care. That doesn't feel right.

They need to make a new tax to pay for it, that way everyone pays for it and everyone's entitled to it. No arguing over who entitled and who isn't.
Bin off the private homes, they are profiting from misery.

 

[Justin Passing]

You're pension fund has grown because of investments made by its managers.

Some of which will likely have been into lucrative areas like social care.

I checked with AI. It's a tiny weeny part of a pension fund's investments.
Most of those investments would be in the USA, because they need the standard weightings for their investments, and most of what there is to invest in, is murrica.

The companies make rather ordinary profits - typical around 10%.
One of the bigger UK co's was bought up by a US company in the sector.
The UK companies are mostly private, not publicly listed. Their results are at companies house though, which AI looked up.
The REIT (property) funds in healthcare always do moderately well because the tenants tend to be stable.

So - nothing special comes up

 

[Justin Passing]

iirc the average stay in a care home is about 5 years. The median is less.
So using Motty's 75k that's 375k.
Lets say you need to aim for 500k. That, with its returns (20kpa) and your state pension(12k) gives you enough to live on. Then when you need long term care, you rapidly use it up.

To accumulate that 500k figure, someone starting at age 25 in 1986, would have had to invest about 10% of their salary and put it in a global equity fund. Those beat cash savings rates.
What's the chance that someone earning an average salary at 25, which is now £30 - 35k, would put 300 - 350 quid in a month, and increase it with their salary over time?
"FAT", I would suggest.

If they happened to be starting their contributions at a time when the stock market decided to go backwards and interest rates were really low, which we HAVE had, then the percentage needed goes up to 13 ish percent.

It sounds like a person would need to take out insurance on how long they're going to live. Or hand over their 500k, which a company uses to pay for your care if you live longer than average, and gains from if you don't. Like an annuity, but different.