A room in a care home costs around £26,000 a year while the average pensioner’s income is £14,000 a year, according to a leading long term care provider.
This funding gap is forcing families and pensioners to raid savings and to sell homes and cherished possessions built up over a lifetime to finance their care.
The costs are even more in London and the south east, where the annual bill for living in a single room in a care home is around £30,000.
Cheapest care costs are in Wales where fees average £17,680 a year.
The findings were published in a report by care agency Prestige Nursing + Care as industry experts warn of a care funding crisis.
Another provider, Southern Cross, is already gripped in a financial struggle that has seen thousands of jobs lost and emergency plans to close up to 190 care homes across the UK. The firm blames rising costs and government cuts in care funding for a fall in profits.
The Prestige Nursing + Care research confirmed most people prefer care and support that could let them stay in their own homes in old age. Sheltered housing was the next most preferred option.
Managing director Jonathan Bruce claims few plan for long term care and do not have financial resources readily available when faced with care bills.
“Families find this distressing,” he said. “An elderly relative breaks their hip and goes into hospital, they need rehabilitation when they come out, and often families haven’t thought it through.
“With 87% of people approaching old age without having made any financial provision for the cost of care, the UK faces a significant crisis.”
Many industry insiders allege care homes are increasing charges to private residents who do not qualify for state support because councils are paying less for publicly-funded residents in the light of government spending cuts.
The survey involved 1,000 people, interviews with 400 elderly people receiving care at home and a poll of 55 residential homes.
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