Publication type
Report
Series Number
Authors
Publication date
May 28, 2025
Summary:
More of us are living longer and so will live with chronic health conditions or the challenges of old age. This means many of us face a future in which we will need care or need to care. Most of us hope that public services – the social care system and social security safety net – will be there for us in these times of need.
But the social care system we have currently is inadequate, with long waiting lists for assessments and support, catastrophic costs for those needing paid care and significant financial and emotional struggles for those undertaking care themselves. Despite commitments from subsequent governments around reform, there are few current concrete plans to improve this system. In the coming years, therefore, it is likely that more people will encounter it at the same time as problems are likely to worsen.
Our research suggests that people are unaware of the challenges of the social care system and thus are likely not preparing for a future in which they may have to meet significant care costs or care themselves.
Telling people about the reality of the care system so they can plan for future care costs is one solution to the challenge of what we call the ‘care expectation gap’. But care costs can be sudden and catastrophic, and issues with the system, like long waiting times or limited support, are difficult to plan for.
Costs are also not meted out equally and so can worsen economic and gender inequalities – for example, we found that people on lower incomes were significantly more likely to say they would not manage (43%) the cost of leaving work to care compared with those on higher incomes (24%).
Solving the ‘care expectation gap’ requires government not to lower people’s expectations of the system but to build a social care system that meets people’s expectations.
Government should focus attention on reforming the subsidy system and improving the quality and affordability of paid care services, while ensuring that unpaid carers don’t face poverty as a result of taking up caring responsibilities.
Subjects
Link
https://www.jrf.org.uk/care/the-care-expectation-gap
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