100 Not Out! | Planning for Later Life

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With each Blog in this series our Team and I will:

1. Highlight a hopefully interesting and significant STATISTIC
2. Provide a little COMMENT from our professional and personal experiences as later life specialist Solicitors
3. Suggest an ACTION that is achievable and beneficial
4. Identify a RESOURCE that we hope is useful
5. Answer a FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION on the particular topic

Our aim is to raise topics in an interesting, succinct, but informative way, in areas where “we often don’t know what we don’t know” but would benefit from knowing. Hopefully, after we engage with the series we will be better informed and empowered to take action and have a clearer plan and resources in place for a fulfilled, fun and less anxious later life.

100 Not Out

With the success of the English and Welsh cricket team winning the World Cup on Sunday it was interesting that no batsman reached the iconic “100 Not Out” on the day. However, Do you think you’ll reach “100 Not Out!”?

Only couple of months or so ago, I had a significant Friday that made me ask the question and do some investigating.

1. I had the funeral of a client who had been in her 102nd year
2. I was liaising with her long-time friend who is in her 105th year
3. I had my Solicitor visit with a Client I am Deputy for who was 100 that very day

So, do you know how many people in England and Wales are “100 Not Out”?

STATISTIC #1 – According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in 2017 there were 14,430 centurions! That number has nearly doubled in only 15 years when there were only 7,800 in 2002.

So, how is that figure going to develop in the coming years and could you be someone who celebrates the big “100 Not Out” in the future?

Well in 2017 there were 565,340 people aged between 90 and 99.
By 2060 there will be over 1,000,000 of us in England and Wales over 100!

COMMENT
This statistic has some obvious and significant implications:
 There will be much greater strain on the NHS
 There will be greater demand for care services and care housing
 There will be continued pressure to continue to work for longer

In our experience as Later Life Legal specialists we see:
 Too often clients react to a crisis of health rather than proactively planning with an up to date Will, appropriately drafted Powers of Attorney, Statements of Wishes and “This is Me” statements
 That the earlier you consider and plan for later life the more options there generally are for care funding, providing for the family, mitigating tax, minimising family disputes
 The benefits from documenting preferences can be vitally important and empowering to ensure person centred care in later life

ACTION
1. Speak with your nearest loved ones to start to discuss and then document your personal wishes and preferences for later life care, finances and fun!
2. Review your key legal documents with a specialist later life lawyer who has relevant experience of acting as Attorney, Deputy, selecting and finding later life care and empowering individuals

RESOURCE
1. Contact Ian Macara for our simple and clear Guides to recording your preferences for both Care Decisions and Financial Decisions since our clients have told us that they are often a helpful start to meaningful conversations
2. When considering a Later Life Legal Advisor look for accreditations for expertise and quality such as Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE), Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners (STEP) “Intergenerational Planning”, Dementia Friend Champions, Action on Elder Abuse members, Court of Protection Panel Deputies (only 71 in England and Wales) – We have them all!

FAQ – In the coming blogs, I’ll be exploring some other significant statistics with the intention being that they help us plan to make informed decisions and take positive action to plan for later life. If you have any particular questions that you would like my specialist team of lawyers to answer then please do email or direct message me and we’ll do what we can to incorporate them into the series.

NEXT TIME – How many people have a Power of Attorney, at what age are they typically made and why are they so important?