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Millions of people aged 40 and over, including pensioners, could be automatically signed up to a new social care scheme under proposals inspired by the UK's workplace pension system.
The plan, put forward by former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb and fellow experts at consultancy LCP, would see taxpayers automatically enrolled into paying a social care premium, with the option to opt out.
Those who stayed in the scheme would build up a discount on their future social care bills the longer they paid in.
Would this mean care would not need paying for later?
Under the proposals, someone who remained in the system for 25 years would be fully exempt from contributing towards their personal care costs.
The suggested model is designed to tackle one of the biggest financial fears facing older people: the risk of having to use their life savings and assets to pay for care.
Sir Steve, a former Liberal Democrat pensions minister who is now a partner at Lane Clark & Peacock (LCP), believes the approach could help people spread the risk of facing huge care bills rather than leaving individuals to shoulder the cost alone.
He said: “Pensions automatic enrolment is a hugely successful policy which is admired around the world.
“There is no reason why the same approach could not be applied to the thorny problem of social care funding.
“At present, people are at risk of having their life savings wiped out by ‘catastrophic’ care costs, and have no way of pooling this risk with other people.
“This scheme, with an opt-out for those who don’t want it, provides an affordable and efficient way for people to protect their savings.”
How would the social care scheme work?
The report proposes a new “social insurance” model for England, borrowing from the automatic enrolment system introduced for workplace pensions in 2012.
That initiative has brought more than 11 million people into pension saving.
Under the new idea, taxpayers aged 40 and over - including those already retired - would automatically start paying a social care premium unless they chose to opt out.
In return, they would gradually build up a discount against future personal care costs, with the discount increasing each year they paid into the scheme.
After 25 years, participants would be fully exempt from the requirement to contribute towards their personal care costs under the proposal.
The report suggests the money could also support measures designed to help people remain independent for longer, including adapting homes, providing better support for unpaid carers and improving access to treatment.
However, the proposals are a suggested model rather than an existing Government scheme. The report does not mean people are currently being enrolled or that the proposed discounts are guaranteed.
What would this mean for the Triple Lock?
Experts say something needs to change - that could be either the triple lock or paying another way.
The report argues that England needs to rethink how it funds care as the population ages and more people live with frailty in later life.
It said: “The UK of the 2040s, where large numbers of people are likely to be living with frailty in later old age, bears little relation to that of the 1940s when the modern welfare state was designed.”
Report co-author Dr Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard, head of LCP Health, said: “Social care is one of the defining societal challenges of our time, but it is also an opportunity to do things differently.
“Our proposed economic framework would not only help people better meet the costs of care, but generate early funding to invest in keeping people healthier and independent for longer.
“Shifting our focus from treating illness to preventing it can strengthen communities, ease pressure on public services and support the health-driven prosperity on which a stronger economy depends.”
What does Andy Burnham's pension plan have to do with social care?
The proposal comes amid wider debate about how to fund care for England's ageing population.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has previously said Labour plans to adjust the state pension triple lock from April 2030 to help fund a new National Care Service in England.
The triple lock currently means the state pension rises each April by whichever is highest: inflation, average earnings growth or 2.5 per cent.
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Under the plans described, the state pension would continue to rise by at least Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation or 2.5 per cent, while leaving the door open to larger increases in some years to help it retain its value relative to average earnings.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has previously suggested that tax rises or cuts to other spending would be needed to pay for social care.
The proposed social insurance model would represent another potential way of spreading the financial risk of care, but it would require further decisions about how the scheme would be funded and operated before it could become reality.