How much money do you consider 'sufficient' in Savings.

Is it £23,000 in savings or £23,000 money including the value of any property you own? I think I have read that they can take the value of your house into it i.e, if you own your own home you have to pay the fees. In the papers today I read that care homes are restricted in what they can charge the council for looking after people so those who are deemed able to pay are charged more than they should be to cover the amount that the council don't pay. The papers said the council can pay £200 pounds a week less than we would have to pay. That doesn't seem fair either (sorry, not quite what the OP asked)

FlossieTurner,Whatever you feel comfortable with,As long as you are confident your children would be able to help you if needed.I would take £100 of the inheritance and by myself something really indulgent first as i rarely buy anything.

Flossie How much savings you need depends on your own individual circumstances.
We try to estimate what we will need in the next 4-5 years, additional to our normal expenditure - things like house maintenance, a new car, whatever it is, and make sure we have enough money readily available, ie in an interest-earning account but one which has no penalties for withdrawal. You also need to allow for unforeseen emergencies - the problem is, they are unforeseen. Our DS and his family live in the US and I like to be able to think that if an emergency arose and they really needed us, we could just fly out for them. I do appreciate that I'm fortunate to be able to do this.
Mumofmadboys I don't think you should assume that everyone who gives money to their DC is doing so to avoid care home fees. Most do it to help the DCs, aware that things are often much more difficult for them than they were for our generation.

Jalima I'm having them mashed with sausages for supper tonight .

When I inherited my mums and dad house I shared it with my three kids and a £1000 for each of my 7 grandchildren ( it was under the amount for inheritance tax ) mum and dad would have wanted that I don't have a great deal but I have a house ( needs a lot doing to it ) and enough for my fairly modest needs so I got my pleasure out of sharing it out. The grandkids thought they d won the lottery their faces were a picture as each opened their envelope from great Nan and grandad )

even tattoos
(more painful than tattoes which are nice mashed with sausages)

but what would you call frittering it away?
tattoes?
piercings?
gambling?

I would love a new kitchen but it would decimate my savings.

Anyway, does it matter as long as it's clean and the meals we cook in there are good?

Mumofmadboys, but what would you call frittering it away?

If a couple have paid into a pension scheme in order that they can have an enjoyable retirement, should they not be able to have meals out, nice holidays or a new car etc.

Further to my previous post, I have just googled and signing over your property to your children is riddled with problems - simpler to sell it and give them the money but the 7 year rule still applies for Inheritance Tax and for care home fees.

Flossieturner
I personally think that savings of twice your yearly outgoings should be enough, as long as there are no outstanding debts, mortgage, credit cards etc.
Obviously, having more is nice, let's be honest, we all like to have money in the bank, but around £20,000 is plenty.

Re: Care home fees.....
My dad died at the age of 61 having worked full time from the age of fourteen. As he had not drawn any of his occupational pension, it passed to mum at a rate of 50%.
Mum had also worked full time since she was fifteen, so from when she turned 60 she was comfortably off, receiving her state pension, her own occupational pension and 50% of dad's.
At one point, due to ill health, it was suggested that she entered a care home, which would have cost an absolute fortune!
I temporarily gave up half my working hours to care for her, and she moved in with us for a while. It wasn't easy as it was while DS was studying for, and sitting his A levels, DH was working constant night shifts, and mum was very demanding.
I couldn't get carer's allowance as my part time salary was above the limit at which I could have claimed.
What I really don't understand is why people who have worked all their lives, paid taxes etc and gone without life's luxuries to save for older age, are then expected to pay for their care home fees when those who chose not to work or have frittered their money away get everything provided for them!
Right, I have my tin hat on, and am behind the parapet, so I really don't care how many stones come my way!

It used to be 7 years, but I'm not sure whether it still is.

You cannot be made to pay a top up. Only if you want specific extras and your relatives are not responsible for paying top ups.
I'm not sure of the time limit but if you sign your house over to your children X amount of years before you show any symptoms that would suggest you may need future care. Then the house may be disregarded

It is a difficult judgement. Do we see our C struggle and go without holidays etc ourselves in case we are accused of spending our own money? And if we never need care we can be assured the next generation will spend it. It is a balance we hope we will get right.

I agree Wobbly that is someone has frittered their money away it is also unfair for the state to pick up the care bill.

There are rules about giving capital away, there is a limit to how much you can give tax free in a year, so it us a good idea to check before making gifts.

Local Authorities can persue relatives for nursing home fees if they think money has been given away to avoid paying for costs. Some of us may need extra help and care as we get older and it is very expensive, in the case of residential or nursing care even if you qualify for free care you can be asked for a top up.

So, if giving it away is unfair, is spending it on yourself also unfair. holidays, cars etc. (playing devils advocate)

I know it is another question but is it fair to give your money away so the state has to pay for your nursing home? I'm not sure it is.
mumofmadboys I think that if you put your house in your children's name(s) then apply for free nursing care they investigate quite thoroughly.
Presumably it could be the same if you have given away all your money to your children.

I remember someone I worked with saying "£100,000 is nothing these days, Jalima"

and that was about 14 or 15 years ago!

I keep thinking that if I win £100,000 I will give some and spend some (and save a bit for a rainy day).
I often sort it all out in my head

When we were first married we budgeted for all regular bills that we could estimate and put that amount into a tobacco tin each week (if I remember correctly it was about £5) this included, food. electric, gas, car maintenance, Xmas and anything we could foresee. This meant that anything left over could be spent on non essentials. MrsP has kept this budgeting up all along (except for food). This means that even now we can cover most bills without worry. Unfortunately £5/wk does not quite cover it now

I know it is another question but is it fair to give your money away so the state has to pay for your nursing home? I'm not sure it is.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that I never reach the stage of needing a care home. I agree, a cool million may see me through the first couple of years there but anywhere half decent charges around £2000 a week at today's prices. I know I live in London but at that price I would be packing a very small suitcase. I am like Wobbly my head is also in the sand.

£23.000. think I am lucky with £23 kept in my account .

The problems certainly mount up when Things like boilers breakdown or the car needs attention. I would like to have savings so that such things could be sorted without worry.

I would feel comfortable with £10k in savings. This an arbitrary amount to cover emergencies like a new boiler, our daughters wedding (that's a joke BTW) etc. Having just bought a new car, we don't have that much atm, but will try to build it up again.
We are lucky that we don't rely on savings for income as many do. A couple of our friends rely on savings/investments for income and are eating into their capital to live.

At the time I was made redundant, our children were at a point where they needed help, we had no hesitation in giving it to them to help them out.

As far as care home fees go, we have our heads in the sand.