"We want to help raise consumer awareness around the importance of seeking professional financial advice in what is a complex area."
The Immediate Needs Annuity is designed to help clients mitigate the risk of running out of money while in care.
Research from L&G found that just 5% of people in care have sought financial advice and put a plan in place to make their money last.
L&G’s Lifetime Care Plan pays a lifetime guaranteed payment towards a person’s care, enabling care costs to be capped should someone live longer than expected. Payments made directly to a registered care provider are tax exempt. When setting up the plan, each case is individually underwritten using medical information collected via a form completed by the care provider and, in rare cases, a GP’s report. However, this process can be slow, sometimes taking months before advisers receive quotes.
To improve the process, L&G is trialling a new approach to how the information used to generate quotes is collected. Instead of relying on postal forms, Legal & General will be conducting tele-interviews with care homes, with the aim to make the process much more efficient.
Emma Byron, managing director of Legal & General Retail Retirement Income, commented: “We already provide products to support people throughout their retirement journey, from working out what they had to start with, to understanding what to do with their pension pot and how to access money to boost their income through retirement.
“We wanted to take this one step further, with a competitive and compelling proposition, that provides people with a guaranteed income for life to support them when having to pay care costs. As well as helping people find the best solution for their needs, we want to help raise consumer awareness around the importance of seeking professional financial advice in what is a complex area. We will be supporting financial intermediaries with all aspects of a client’s care journey, this will include helping clients navigate through the fragmented care system with tools and resources to support them.
“We want people to live longer, happier, healthier lives in retirement but finding and funding care is the elephant in the room – it is a broken market that needs to be fixed. This is precisely the kind of challenge where Legal & General’s inclusive capitalism, our brand and balance sheet can make a difference. We are looking at strategies that reach across a broad range of areas, these include understanding, finding and funding care”.
