Letter: Help the elderly care for themselves
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.From Mr Piers Hart
Sir; In his article on paying for care of the elderly (Money: 25 November), Clifford German mentions a number of ways in which the Chancellor could ease the problem through tax concessions and by upping the pounds 8,000 asset threshold. Surely one of the simplest measures to allow the elderly to hang on to their homes would be to allow the cost of care to be offset for tax purposes against any income they might have. In this way a small occupational pension might be able to pay in full for care in the home without the need for outside resources or subsidies. Similarly, renting out the erstwhile family home might provide sufficient gross income to pay for residential care. This would greatly reduce the financial demands on the public purse and continue to allow individuals, even in old age, to be independent consumers and creators of wealth. It does seem iniquitous that the elderly and infirm should be penalised through taxation in their endeavours to remain financially self sufficient.
Yours faithfully,
Piers Hart
Thetford, Norfolk
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments