Care Fees Ruined My Retirement Dreams

My wife Ann and I always dreamed of selling our family home and using the money to fund a year-long trip to New Zealand and Australia to visit family. After our travels, we planned to buy a small sailing yacht, as I’m an avid sailor. With the house fully paid off and £60,000 in savings, it felt like we had everything we needed to enjoy our retirement.

But in 2016, our lives took a turn. Ann was diagnosed with dementia, and her health deteriorated far quicker than I ever imagined. I was determined to care for her at home with the help of our daughter. But we didn’t have Lasting Power of Attorneys (LPAs) in place, and because of that, the local council stepped in and took control of everything—our finances and all decisions about Ann’s care.

I wanted to look after Ann myself, but the authorities decided she needed round-the-clock care. They forced her into a care home that cost £2,300 a month, even though I wanted to keep her at home. The council took control of our joint bank account and drained our £60,000 in savings to pay for her care. Once the money was gone, they began dipping into the equity of our family home—the home Ann and I had always planned to sell for our retirement dreams.

Ann spent six years in that care home before she passed away. During those years, the council wiped out our savings and took almost all the equity in our home. I’m left with just £23,250, and I’m now living on my pension with barely anything left to my name.

We paid into National Insurance our whole lives, thinking that when the time came, the NHS would cover the costs of care. I was wrong. Not only does the NHS not cover elderly care, but the local council also took everything we had—despite the fact that I didn’t need care myself and the home was ours, not just Ann’s.

I’m allowed to stay in the house for now, but I can’t sell it because most of it belongs to the council. I can’t afford to rent a smaller property either, as my pension wouldn’t cover the rent. The council is even trying to convince me to move into a bedsit so they can take the rest of the house.

The dreams Ann and I had for our retirement are gone. I feel trapped, miserable, and completely helpless. All we wanted was to enjoy our later years together and travel the world, but the lack of estate planning and not having LPAs in place has cost me everything.