Warren Shute is a multi award-winning Chartered Financial Planner, Certified Coach, author of The Money Plan, and Sunday Mirror columnist
September is World Alzheimer’s Month, with September 21 recognised as World Alzheimer’s Day.
This international campaign aims to raise awareness and highlight the challenges faced by people affected by dementia. Globally, dementia is one of the biggest challenges we face.
Nearly 60 million people currently live with the condition worldwide, a number expected to reach 78 million in the next seven years and 153 million by 2050.
So why am I writing about this in a financial column?
In my book The Money Plan I talk about eight financial foundations we should all be aware of, three of which are essential and five optional.
The three relevant here are our emergency cash, our will and our powers of attorney – and the latter two are not just something to think about when older.
I strongly suggest everyone over the age of 18 has them; an accident or a condition like dementia can affect us from any age.
Why this matters
Once a person loses capacity, they are unable to make their own decisions. From a financial perspective, once capacity has been lost you can’t access your savings or pension without the permission of the courts.
Ideally, to ensure there is someone you can trust to make financial decisions on your behalf in such circumstances, you will have arranged a power of attorney to let them legally do so.
Thinking ahead really matters here. Alzheimer’s is one condition that affects capacity and can, in some cases, do so at a rapid rate. And oncecapacity is lost, it is too late to appoint an attorney.
And it can take several months to arrange and register the relevant document with the Office of Public Guardian (OPG).
Making arrangements
There are two types of lasting power of attorney (LPA): one for dealing with property and financial matters, and one for health and welfare.
A precursor to LPAs in England was the enduring power of attorney (EPA). If executed before October 1, 2007, an EPA is still valid. But it needs to be registered on the onset of incapacity, which is a drawback of an EPA; they cannot be registered in advance and they only cover financial matters, not health and welfare.
An LPA, on the other hand, can be registered straight away and must be registered before it can be used. You can complete forms for an LPA online at gov.uk, or you can use paper forms. A new online service for the nominated attorneys has also been launched by the OPG.
As a result of the Covid pandemic and public awareness, there has been an increased demand for LPAs. According to the latest report from the OPG, there are now more than 8 million LPAs and EPAs registered, reflecting significant growth in recent years due to heightened awareness and demand for these services.
Some 1.37 million applications were submitted in 2023/4 alone. But given that the Office for National Statistics estimates there are more than 57 million adults in the UK, there is clearly still more to do to encourage people to take this important step.
This month seems an ideal opportunity to raise this important topic and signpost you to do just that.
