Not from the UK, but this person's experiences is similar to mine in the US.

The cost of care, especially nursing/assisted living, is so high that even millions of dollars in savings can be used up relatively quickly.

The worst is for situations where their income (ssi/pensions) exceed qualification for medicaid, but are less than what could cover a nursing home. this can be solved with a miller trust but it takes time to setup so you better have another way to take care of them while sorting out.

> Navigating the cost of care for my 79-year-old mum has been complex, and there is something deeply uncomfortable about reducing a lifetime of achievements into savings accounts, assets and financial assessments to be handed over to near strangers.

Just as the health and happiness of a child is in large part determined by such unimportant and irrelevant factors as material wealth so is for the elderly or the infirm.

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In a perfect world children would take care of their aging parents, but (of course) this isn't always possible.

I guess classical societies, especially in asia with their complex families, was perhaps the best answer to this, where these burdens were shared, and grandparents, in-turn, helped with the grandkids.