Long-term care costs to hit £38bn by 2025 The survey revealed that while nearly a quarter of adults expect an elderly relative to need long-term care in the future, fewer than one in ten plan to look after their loved ones themselves to avoid paying for care, with half of those expecting to fund care for others have not thought about how they will pay for it. Nearly one in five adults believe they will have to fund the cost of their own long-term care in the future. When asked how they would fund their own care if needed, nearly a quarter said they would use their property to pay for care, either through equity release, remortgaging or selling their home. Just under a fifth of adults said they would use savings or their pension income Under the current system, those in residential services in nursing and care homes with assets worth over £23,250 are not eligible for Government support. According to the research, the average wealth, including assets such as investments, savings, property after mortgage, of those over age 55 is just £32,500 indicating that under the current rules, many would have to fund the entire cost of care themselves with no help from the state. The recent report from Andrew Dilnot, reviewing the funding system for long-term care in England, suggests that a cap on the amount people pay towards the cost of their care be set at around £35,000, and recommends only those with assets worth over £100,000 should pay for the full cost of their care. The report from LV= reveals the majority of people agree there should be a cap introduced on the funding of long-term care. A fifth of this group think it should be dependent on people's wealth and not set at the same level for everyone. On average, people thought the cap should be set at £14,000, much lower than the cap recommended in the Dilnot report. Almost a third believe the Government should fund the total cost of people's long-term care. The Government is due to formally respond to the Dilnot report in the coming weeks. "The average wealth of those over 55 is above the current limit for state funding of £23,250 meaning the cost of long-term care will need to be paid for out of their own pockets under the current rules," said Ms Owens. With the average cost per person of long-term care set to hit £33,000 per year by 2025, it won't be long before personal funds run dry. The Government needs to address the Dilnot report, and introduce some sort of cap to ensure that people can properly plan for the possibility of paying for care, and that people's total wealth isn't quickly eroded.