Care cap will only help small minority of elderly, officials admit But he confirmed that the loans, which could save 40,000 people a year from losing their homes, will not be interest free. He also disclosed that councils are braced for an influx of up to 500,000 people coming forward in a single year requesting formal "assessments" of their needs so that they can benefit from the new care system - at a cost of up £335 million. He said the changes, due to come into effect in April 2016, would not be a "panacea" but would bring vital reform to the "completely irrational" and "dysfunctional" system currently in place. They would, he said, bring "reassurance to millions of people" and finally enable many to plan for their own care. But internal estimates published by the Department of Health made clear that only a small minority of people will benefit from the cap. They predict that, by the year 2026, just under 100,000 more older people will be getting help with the cost of care than would otherwise do so. That figure will include all of those benefiting from the cap as well as many others. It suggests that the number of people whose costs are capped by 2026 will amount to only around half of one per cent of the expected population of over 65s at the time. Officials predicted that overall 16 per cent of those with care needs will run up bills big enough to qualify to have them capped at some point - the equivalent of one in eight older people. There is still no clear estimate of how many disabled people will benefit. But they also released projections showing that, while care will not be free, people on every level of income should be better off under the plans. For example someone with assets of £100,000 would end up paying £45,000 towards their care instead of £79,000 at present. But charities said that in reality many people will run up bills of tens of thousands of pounds which do not count towards the cap. Dr Ros Altmann, a former Government policy adviser on ageing, said many would simply die before reaching it. "The cap itself is not a proper cap," she said. It was set much higher than Dilnot which means that a lot more people will end up using most of their assets or paying for all of their care. Michelle Mitchell, director general of Age UK, said: "It is crucial that the public understands what costs are included under the cap and what impact the proposals will have. With a cap set at £72,000 is it clear that only a relatively small percentage of older people will receive financial support as a result - namely those who have the greatest care needs for a considerable amount of time. It will also only apply to those who are assessed as eligible - so people may be surprised that even those with quite considerable care needs may not have access to the system. Richard Hawkes, chief executive of the disability charity Scope, said: "The low numbers of people set to qualify from the cap points to wider issues with the Government's Care Bill. The cap only kicks in if you are eligible for social care. And Government plans are set to tighten the criteria even further. Mr Lamb said: "This is an incredibly important reform [but] it's important to be clear about what it is and what it isn't. It's not a panacea, it doesn't solve every problem of the care system but achieving fairer funding and achieving a more rational system which creates incentives to save and also the ability for people to plan for their old age is incredibly important. Cap effects - benefit to be felt across all incomes. Government estimates of how much money people with different levels of wealth would pay for their care under the current system and after the reforms have been implemented: Initial assets Current system Under the capped cost system The estimates are based on someone who spends three years in residential care at a cost of £660 a week. Order a guide to long and short-term care