The Alzheimer’s Society believes that 209,600 people will develop dementia this year, that’s one person diagnosed every three minutes.
There are estimated to be more than 944,000 people currently living with dementia in the UK, one in 11 of them being over the age of 65.
This is estimated to increase in the future with over 1mn people in the UK projected to be living with dementia in 2025 and nearly 1.6mn in 2040.
With this projected increase in diagnoses, some financial advisers have advised that disputes among family members will only become “more common”.
To combat this, One Four Nine Group recommended considering a will or lasting power of attorneys in advance rather than ignoring it until the last minute.
“Seeking advice and putting in place the necessary protections early when mental capacity is not in doubt that makes wishes clear in the event of a diagnosis will help minimise the impact of the devastating news”, the firm advised.
Additionally, 20 per cent of people over the age of 80 are thought to be affected by dementia.
Costs
At the moment, people with dementia have to fund the complete cost of their care, unless they have assets that have a value of less than £23,250.
However, for those with assets over that amount, the cost of dementia works out to an annual average cost of £32,250 per person, equaling a total cost to the UK of £34.7bn a year.
This yearly cost is set to rise sharply over the next two decades, to £94.1bn in 2040 with the largest proportion of this cost, around 45 per cent, being related to social care.
However, VitalityLife has revealed that almost the majority of Brits are ignorant to this fact, being unaware of the cost of caring for someone with dementia.
In a survey, 46 per cent of respondents said they were not aware of the average cost of care despite 60 per cent saying they would be worried about the cost if they were diagnosed.
VitalityLife also reported that, while one of the key ways of caring for a person with dementia is making improvements to their home, a fifth of those surveyed did not know ways they could be improved.
Meanwhile, an RBC survey revealed that 80 per cent of caregivers have reported some level of financial mismanagement in families affected by cognitive decline.
Advice for advisers
The way in which advisers approach this sensitive topic has been a topic for debate among the industry.
For example, to help advisers work with clients who may be suffering with dementia, Old Mill IFA, Andrew Page, encouraged using an individual and bespoke approach, stating: “When you’ve met one person with dementia, you’ve met one person with dementia - everyone is different.”
As part of this, Page encouraged using “appropriate language” such as keeping all matters as clear and straightforward as possible.
Additionally, Professional Financial Centre managing director, Kristen Dalton advised gaining all possible knowledge of clients and their situation.
