No matter how much I try to stay young old age slowly seems to be creeping up on me.

Over the years I have seen all of my relatives succumb to the ravages of old age and it wasn’t a very pleasant sight.

I can proudly say that all my relatives were cared for in their own homes until the end. Not one of them went into a care home.

It required a lot of hard work and dedication from all the family members.

In this modern age there is a whole army of unsung and usually unpaid carers helping others to be as independent as possible.

Getting the weekly shopping, paying bills, doing housework, cooking food and even helping relatives to get dressed are just some of the tasks the carers may need to undertake in order to keep someone in their own home.

Back in the 1970’s I can remember some of my relatives receiving visits from the home help twice a week.

For the price of a home-help stamp someone would turn up to basically do whatever was required from hovering to washing or even getting shopping. Now that really was a service.

A similar service exists today but it is now called home care. From what people tell me the modern service is aimed more at medical care rather than giving general help.

No matter how much relatives care for members of their family at some point elderly people will need medical assistance. Of course this does not come cheap.

A national debate is raging about how to fund the care of the elderly. Personally I think the NHS should pay after all we have all paid our National Insurance.

It seems the government has other ideas including a death tax of around £20,000 on everyone to pay for all the care of the elderly.

How can this be fair?

Some people require more care then others and some relatives will work hard only for the government to step in at the last minute and take a tax as payment for state care that may never have been provided.

What’s the point of family members caring for their relatives if the government is going to take the money anyway?

Surely the very idea of a death tax is a snub for all the unpaid and unsung carers?

With an election looming there are bound to be political skirmishes and slanging matches going on but what does it say about the government when the ball they are kicking around is a tax on people dying?

Whatever you do don’t get old. I am going to try my best to stay young after all on my paltry wage £20k is a sum of money that I can only dream of.

I just can’t afford to die yet….

What do you think?