Research conducted by retirement specialist Just Group revealed a worryingly high proportion of older retirees have not yet organised a Power of Attorney (POA), a crucial document that protects their interests in the event of illness or loss of mental capacity.

Almost 60% of retirees aged 75 and above, totalling around 3.4 million people, indicated that they had not taken steps to establish a Power of Attorney. Of those, 35% cited a belief that they were not at the appropriate life stage as the primary reason for not having one.

The second most common reason reported was a reluctance to surrender control, with 22% expressing concerns about relinquishing control of their finances, and 6% stating they did not trust others with their money. Perhaps most surprising, nearly one in 10 (8%) said they didn’t know it was important to organise a POA.

A Power of Attorney is a legal document that empowers an individual, known as the attorney, to make decisions on behalf of another person, the donor, if the donor loses the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves. It is crucial to arrange a Power of Attorney while the donor still possesses the mental capacity to handle financial or medical decisions. In England, there are two distinct Power of Attorney documents—one for health and welfare, and another for property and financial affairs.

In the absence of a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) and the event of a person losing capacity, family members must seek deputyship through the Court of Protection. Deputyship has a more limited scope than a Power of Attorney, incurs an annual renewal fee of approximately £2,500, and can lead to financial challenges during the time it takes for the Court to appoint a deputy.

We strongly advise organising LPAs as soon as possible – it really is never too early, and you never know what is around the corner. If you feel you don’t have an appropriate attorney to appoint, there are professionals that can act for you.

If you would like to have a friendly chat about organising your affairs, please don’t hesitate to give us a call on 0117 3636 212 or email office@haroldstephens.co.uk

Just Group’s Countdown to Retirement research series: survey of 1,050 UK adults aged 55+ and retired/semi-retired conducted by conducted by Opinium between 17th and 27th August 2023