Planning for your Future Day information sessions

Join 2000 residents who've already planned for their futures

Surrey's pioneering campaign to help older people, or those who look after them, learn more about their future care options has been growing in popularity. Other local authorities are following our lead and we're about to hold an awareness day which will feature our biggest ever 'Planning for your Future' event in Guildford on 11 March.

Planning for your Future aims to help those who will need to pay for care themselves or whose family pay members pay. Most of us will need to pay towards our care costs. The programme is run in partnership with Age UK Surrey and includes information on:

• maintaining independence
• care options
• costs of care
• Powers of Attorney
• local services

Over 2000 people have already attended a presentation, and nine in ten people would recommend it to a friend. One event attendee said:

"These sessions should be attended by everyone, no matter their age, so that they understand the options available, both for themselves and their loved ones."

The response we have received has led to Hampshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire adopting our approach to help support their own residents.

Reasons to prepare for later life

The need for such help is clear. By the time we get to 80, the NHS says more than half of us need help with things like dressing or bathing. Did you know, if you need long term care in a residential home in Surrey, care in Surrey costs an average of £1200+ a week and nursing support even more?

Results from resident research shows 88% of adults in Surrey are concerned about needing future support. 81% of people are moderately or really concerned about paying for care.

It's in everyone's interests to understand what the options are for themselves or a loved one. Having a conversation with family about the future is vital, rather than waiting until a crisis hits. The information in a Planning for your Future event can help give everyone involved some peace of mind.

Join us for free on 11 March in Guildford or online

The special Guildford event will take place in the Baptist Church in Millmead, a few minutes from the station with car parks nearby. It starts at 11am on 11 March, but feel free to come along a little earlier to enjoy some refreshments.

Attendees can expect a talk packed full of information, tips and links to further sources of support. Everyone who comes along will leave with a checklist containing a reminder of the key points.

Alongside the council's Adult Social Care team and Age UK Surrey, the event will be attended by other organisations such as:

• Mole Valley Life (falls responders)
• the Society of Later Life Advisors (financial planning experts)
• Surrey libraries (digital support)

If you can't make the live Guildford event, there will be an online version of the presentation the same evening at 7pm. Plus there are a few other live events in March.

To book for any session, including the special Guildford event, visit the Planning for your Future events page . You can also use the link to find other useful information and contact the Planning for your Future team.