CII urges members to talk about later life and care

The Chartered Insurance Institute is taking part in Talk Money Week, an annual awareness campaign coordinated by the Money and Pensions Service, by encouraging members to start a conversation with family and friends about later life and care funding.

Held from 8 to 12 November, Talk Money Week aims to reduce the stigma around money by encouraging conversations among families, friends, neighbours, customers, colleagues and communities.

To kickstart conversations about later life and care the Chartered Insurance Institute has emailed insurance professionals asking them to read and share our ‘Guide to Later Life: Starting the Conversation’ and arrange a conversation about this important issue with their own friends and family.

Talking openly about money can have a huge impact on tackling money worries and is important for our overall health and relationships. The impact of Covid-19 has made it more important than ever to start conversations about our later life resilience to look after our financial, social and mental wellbeing.

The Chartered Insurance Institute’s call for conversations about care to take place this week comes after the professional body’s survey of 2,000 consumers in December 2020 found people who discuss care plans with their wider family are reassured from talking over the issues and coming up with a plan.

Matthew Connell, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at the Chartered Insurance Institute, said: “Starting conversations about later life and care funding sooner rather than later enables you to focus on enjoying your life in the sure knowledge that you have the appropriate plans in place to deal with later-life needs:

“It is never too early to start planning for later life but sadly all too many people every year find it is now too late to widen their options for care as they sleepwalked into a funding crisis.”

Caroline Siarkiewicz, Chief Executive of the Money and Pensions Service, which leads Talk Money Week, said: “As we continue to respond to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, financial wellbeing remains key to the UK’s recovery: a financially healthy nation is good for individuals, communities, business, and the economy.

“Talk Money Week provides a key opportunity for the nation to break the taboo of discussing money and finances. We are pleased to see so many organisations encouraging conversations about money - from pocket money to pensions - to help people across the country make better informed and more positive decisions about their finances.”