Elderly care costs '˜could swallow up value of home'

Royal London found that a typical stay of around 30 months in a residential home could equate to between 18% and 56% of the value of an average home, depending on where someone lives in the UK.

And with care costs also varying across the UK, someone entering residential care could typically face total bills of between £50,000 and £93,000, the research calculates.

Debbie Kennedy, head of protection at Royal London, said: “These figures are a shocking reminder of the huge costs which growing numbers of us will face if we need residential care later in life.

“Even an average stay in a care home can eat up half the value of your home, depending where you live in the country.

“The whole system is a lottery and we need to find better ways of supporting people to cope with these large and unpredictable bills.”

In Northern Ireland, the calculations show that a 130-week stay in a residential care home – charged at £512 per week – would leave someone with a bill of around £66,614. This would equate to 53.1% of the value of their property.

The average house price here is £125,480.

People in the North East of England, where the average house price is just under £129,000, could face an average care home cost equating to 56% of the cost of their home.

The typical weekly bill there would be £554 per week, bringing the cost of a 30-month stay to around £72,000, the analysis found.

By contrast, people living in London could find that 30 months in residential care equates to 18% of the value of their property.

The average house price in London is £484,000 and an average stay in a residential care home at £666 per week could cost around £86,600 in total.