Care, Housing & Family Decisions
Retirement decisions are rarely just about pensions. These guides cover the bigger life questions — care fees, your home, helping parents and getting the right legal documents in place.
Guides in this section
- Paying for care home fees
How the local authority means test works, the upper and lower capital limits, and what you can do to plan for care fees.
- Can I give my house to my children?
The risks of gifting your home to your children — inheritance tax, deprivation of assets, gift with reservation, and capital gains tax.
- Downsizing in retirement
When downsizing makes sense, the real costs (stamp duty, moving, legal) and how to weigh it up against equity release.
- Retiring with a mortgage
How to handle a mortgage that runs into retirement — extending the term, RIO mortgages, drawdown to clear it, or downsizing.
- Helping elderly parents with money
Practical steps for adult children — checking entitlements, setting up online banking safely, third-party access and lasting power of attorney.
- Lasting power of attorney and retirement planning
The two types of LPA, why they matter more than a will for retirement planning, and how to register one with the Office of the Public Guardian.