Is a ring-fenced national fund the answer to the problem of care funding?

The care needs of older people should be met from a ringfenced national fund paid into by all adults during their working lives, the New Local Government Network said today.

In a paper to influence the forthcoming green paper on funding care in England, the local government think-tank claimed a social insurance system would ensure people took personal responsibility for their care needs, tackling the disincentive to save in the current means-tested funding system.

The view echoes that of our own Outside Left blogger Mike McNabb who said last month: “income tax and national insurance are already set out on wage slips separately, so why not add a third? Call it care tax or care insurance, perhaps.”

And the need to address the issue is becoming increasingly urgent, with Counsel and Care revealing last month that older people moving into a care home are finding it increasingly difficult to pay their bills because of the credit crunch.

Do you think a social insurance system is the way forward? Have your say on our CareSpace discussion forum.