Care fees advisers

Questions about funding care?

Call us for your free consultation with one of our friendly UK care experts. If you need further support, our Care Concierge service is on hand to provide guidance on typical care costs, help you explore your funding and benefit options, or even negotiate care fees on your behalf.

Find out how Care Concierge can help you, or call now on freephone:

0800 098 8299

(Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm)

Care fee adviser qualifications

Care fee advisers are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA makes sure that the advisers have the relevant skills, experience and qualifications to give professional advice. They also require advisers to adhere to a code of conduct and ethics.

Care fee advisers must hold a relevant qualification. This must be either:

• the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) CF8, or
• the Institute of Financial Services (IFS) Certificate in Long Term Care Insurance (CeLTCI)

Cost of consulting a care fees adviser

Normally a care fees adviser will offer a short initial consultation without a charge. However, you may not receive any recommendations of how to proceed with funding care in this meeting.

During this consultation the adviser will also discuss their fees for future consultations with you, and you can decide if you want to proceed.

The cost of a care fee adviser can differ depending on the area in which you live, your situation and which financial products they recommend. Care fees advisers can often charge between £75 and £250 an hour for their services or they may facilitate their advice fee from you through the provider.

Sometimes a care fees adviser will charge their fees hourly or ask for a flat rate. Sometimes they will take a charge equivalent to the fee from any financial product that you buy. 

The FCA requires that your care fee adviser tells you in advance whether they will receive fees from a financial product that you choose to purchase.

Finding a care fees adviser

You can search for care fees advisers in the Money Advice Service’s Retirement Adviser Directory: https://directory.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en 

All advisers in this directory are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and can choose to recommend financial products from a wide range of providers.

If you can’t afford to consult a care fees adviser

If you can’t afford to consult a care fees adviser, there are still other organisations who may be able to give you some free support. However they won’t be able to give you personal financial advice on how to use your available funds to pay for care fees.

These include:  

• Age UK https://www.ageuk.org.uk/services/age-uk-advice-line/ 
• Citizens Advice https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/ 
• Elderly Accommodation Counsel (EAC) FirstStop Advice http://www.firststopcareadvice.org.uk/resources/support-line/ 
• Independent Age https://www.independentage.org/get-advice/money/benefits 
• Money Advice Service https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/corporate/contact-us 

Summary

How do I find an FCA-regulated care fees adviser?

You can search for FCA-regulated care fees advisers in the Money Advice Service’s Retirement Adviser Directory: https://directory.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en 

If you find a care fees adviser and are not sure if they are FCA-regulated, you can use the FCA’s Financial Services Register to search for firms and individuals and the activities firms have permissions for: https://register.fca.org.uk/s/ 

Do I need to pay to consult a care fees adviser?

Normally a care fees adviser will offer a short initial consultation at their own cost. However, you may not receive any recommendations of how to proceed with funding care in this meeting. 

How much does it cost to consult a care fees adviser?

Care fees advisers can often charge between £75 and £250 an hour for their services or their advice fee can be facilitated by the provider.

Can I consult a care fees adviser on behalf of someone else?

You are able to consult a care fees adviser on behalf of someone else if you are their named financial power of attorney. 

What if I can’t afford to consult a care fees adviser?

If you can’t afford to consult a care fees adviser, there are still other organisations who may be able to give you some free support.

These include Age UK, Citizens Advice, Elderly Accommodation Counsel (EAC), Independent Age and the Money Advice Service.

Questions about funding care?

Call us for your free consultation with one of our friendly UK care experts. If you need further support, our Care Concierge service is on hand to provide guidance on typical care costs, help you explore your funding and benefit options, or even negotiate care fees on your behalf. Find out how Care Concierge can help you, or call us now on freephone:

0800 098 8299 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm)

Related Articles