In response to Laura Perrins: And to my children I leave . . . a stonking great bill for our ‘free’ benefits, Chris Martin wrote:

My 94-year-old father, who worked for 51 years, paid tax and national insurance for 51 years and STILL pays tax AND he is still paying for his own care. His prudence and modest lifestyle and the savings he accumulated are now being ‘burnt through’ to pay for his care – currently costing £41,000 a year. So far he has paid over £150,000 in care costs . . . meantime those who spent all their money before they got old get full state support. I agree it’s difficult to balance who pays what. Maybe we all need to take out compulsory care insurance alongside our normal pension?