If you are one of 10.6 million unpaid carers in Britain, you might appreciate some help finding your way around the UK’s complex social care system. That’s why our free Care Concierge Service provides an expert, empathetic and totally confidential service for eligible Legal & General Retail customers.
It provides guidance from experts with decades of experience to help ease the practical and emotional pressure, whether you need help understanding what kind of care is needed or you’re worried about the cost and whether a family home will have to be sold. They can explain the local authority assessment process, NHS funding, state benefits and power of attorney.
And we know there are plenty of families that need our help. It’s estimated that 4.7% of the population in England and Wales provide 20 hours or more of care each week, and behind that statistic are thousands of people struggling with the challenges of old age.
Demystifying social care
The Care Concierge Service was launched in 2021 and expanded this year, making it available to more of our customers and key charity partners.
It is predominantly a telephone helpline aiming to help people understand, find and fund care. By September, 15,000 people had contacted the service or visited the website during 2023 alone.
That’s perhaps not surprising since from 2010 to 2020, 4.3 million people became unpaid carers each year, or around 12,000 every day. We work to support the NHS, local authorities and charities, which are often swamped with calls. We provide our customers with another option. In addition, each source of information often only covers one aspect of the later life care journey rather than guiding you through the whole process, and this sometimes leaves both elderly people and their carers confused.
Helping struggling carers
Adam adds that up to 95% of people that call the Legal & General service are adult children calling on behalf of their mum or dad or parents-in-law. Some are struggling financially because of the costs associated with being a carer. Carers UK says that a quarter of carers are cutting back on essentials like food because of the pressures they are facing in the cost-of-living crisis.
Many have busy lives of their own and our consultants will do their best to work around their commitments. Some may even have been given access to the Care Concierge Service as a benefit by their employer. Companies are increasingly recognising the impact that caring responsibilities can have on their workers and productivity.
According to Carers UK, around 5% of informal carers who are also working quit every year. We estimate that by providing support to staff, companies could reduce sick leave among workers with carer responsibilities by 38% and those considering quitting work by 17%.
Making things a little easier
The Care Concierge Service aims to be as easy to use and helpful as possible. The majority of people will be connected to one of the team immediately. If a care consultant isn’t available, you can simply leave a message and someone will call back, usually within the hour.
Leading charities and sector experts have supported the training for our consultants. They are empathetic and strive to be flexible to fit around the commitments of your busy life by, for example, arranging a call during your lunch hour. They’ll even set up a conference call with other family members to ensure everybody is involved.
If you are looking for a care home but don’t know where to start, our consultants can contact the care homes in your area and prepare a report.
We’re playing our part in tackling the UK’s social care challenges. The Care Concierge service has even partnered with national charities, like Independent Age. We’re both experts in later life care, and our partnership means that as many people as possible can access the information and guidance they need.
Care Concierge is available to all Annuity, Lifetime Mortgage, Workplace Pension and Group Protection customers. Retail Protection customers with a policy starting 20 July 2023 onward can also access the service.