Social care

Lost: low earners and the elderly care market

Claudia Wood
Claudia Wood

Lost: low earners and the elderly care market is our first piece of research in a programme of work which addresses social care for older people and explores elderly care through the eyes of low earners. This report looks at how low earners fare in the elderly care system from a variety of perspectives and outlines plans for future work in the programme based on our preliminary conclusions. In order to establish how low earners fare in the elderly care system we commissioned two pieces of research, a YouGov survey and a literature review and qualitative study by Deloitte.

 

Key findings

  • Low earners are more likely to be both carers and care users
  • They have a deep sense of unfairness regarding long-term care, believing the system punishes those who work and save to prepare for old age
  • They are convinced care is declining in quality and becoming less affordable
  • The complexity and lack of guidance in navigating their care choices is their single most pressing concern
  • They would like to see the majority of people receiving free or subsidised care, and say they are willing to pay more tax in order for the state to deliver such an outcome

Further reading

Who cares?
The experience of social care workers, and the enforcement of employment rights in the sector
·
Nye Cominetti
To govern is to choose
The choices facing the Chancellor this autumn
·
Torsten Bell, Adam Corlett, Daniel Tomlinson
A caring tax rise?
The impacts of a potential increase in National Insurance
·
Torsten Bell, Adam Corlett
Claudia Wood
Claudia Wood Former Head of Policy and Research