Joint committee recommendations for a clause stipulating the importance of financial advice in the Care and Support Bill has the potential to transform the advice market, Partnership has said.
Responding to today's joint committee report scrutinising the draft Bill, Jim Boyd, director of corporate affairs at the long-term care insurance provider, said the document findings would be "extremely influential" in the final Bill.
The Joint Committee on the draft Care and Support Bill report recommends:"...the draft Bill should make clear that ‘information' and ‘advice' include financial information and advice, and that local authority services should recommend financial advisers only if they are regulated by the Financial Services Authority."
Boyd said: "It is really significant for consumers and financial advisers alike. If adopted into the Bill -then it has the potential to transform the market for care advice.
"We have been campaigning for this for over two years - so this will a fantastic result for all of the hard work and effort we have put into ensuring all self-funders get access to regulated financial advice."
Earlier today Chris Horlick, managing director of care at Partnership, said the influential committee recommendations would have "profound" consequences for all self-funders.
"If adopted into the Bill - this will ensure that 100% of self-payers receive appropriate financial advice, by regulated financial advisers who are qualified to give advice on care funding products," he added.
"Our research shows that fewer than 15% of self-funders in residential care have received appropriately qualified care fees advice. It is likely that many self-funders may not have considered the correct financial product to fund their care fees or have not purchased any financial product at all."
Stephen Lowe, director at specialist retirement income provider Just Retirement said it was "pleasing" that the report called on government to put financial advice at the centre of the long-term care funding solution.
The committee also recommended a national campaign be created to raise awareness of national care and support options.
Lowe said: "A substantial, national awareness building campaign lead by the government in partnership with the financial services industry is imperative if we are to create a meaningful market to help people with funding solutions for care."
