Radical “Beyond Caring” Report Calls for New National Fund to Fix Later-Life Social Care Crisis

A major new report, Beyond Caring, has set out a sweeping proposal to overhaul how later-life social care is funded in England—arguing that the current system is “failing at every level” and requires fundamental reform rather than incremental change.

The paper highlights a system under intense strain, with chronic underfunding, widening regional inequalities and rising unmet need. More than 2 million older people are currently not receiving the care they require, alongside 1.5 million working-age adults, while providers, councils and families face mounting financial pressures.

At the heart of the report is a call to split England’s adult social care system into two distinct models: one for working-age adults and another for those in later life. The authors argue that the needs, risks and funding logic for these groups differ too significantly to justify a single, unified approach.

A contributory model for later life

The report proposes the creation of a national Later Life Care Fund, built on four key principles: risk pooling, sustainability, fairness and deliverability.

Under the model, adults would begin making mandatory contributions of around 1.8% of income from the age of 34. These contributions would be paid into a privately managed fund with a clear mandate to generate long-term returns, allowing it to grow in line with rising care costs.

Unlike the current system—heavily reliant on council tax precepts and general taxation—the new approach would create a dedicated funding stream. Each generation would effectively contribute towards its own later-life care, with funds pooled across the population to spread the financial risk.

The report argues that later-life care is particularly suited to this approach. While individuals cannot predict exactly how much care they will need, it is widely accepted that most people will require some level of support in old age. At the same time, a small proportion will face very high costs—risks that are difficult to insure privately but well suited to collective pooling.

Ending a “lopsided” system

The authors are critical of the current funding model, describing it as a “lopsided market” in which younger taxpayers shoulder an increasing burden while many older individuals remain financially exposed.

They also note that past reform attempts have faltered amid political backlash—particularly proposals labelled as a “dementia tax”.

In contrast, the proposed fund aims to provide a clearer and more predictable settlement. For those with low or moderate care needs, the fund would fully cover costs. For individuals with higher needs and greater financial means, a progressive co-payment system would apply.

Protections and incentives

The model includes several new safeguards designed to improve fairness and public confidence:

• A co-payment-free allowance to cover lower levels of care
• A significant increase in protected assets, more than doubling the current threshold
• A system designed to balance contributions across income groups and regions

Crucially, the fund would be invested for growth, allowing contributions made during working life to benefit from compound returns. This, the report suggests, would help ensure long-term sustainability without placing additional strain on public finances.

A call for decisive action

The report concludes that maintaining the status quo is no longer viable, warning of a “collapsing social contract” between generations.

By separating working-age and later-life care funding—and introducing a national contributory system—the authors argue that England has an opportunity to create a more stable, equitable and transparent model.