Letter: Who can afford to grow old?

Sir: Rachel Collins (Letters, 7 October) must live in a different world from most who are facing the problems of old age. 'Reluctant' to pay parents' nursing- home fees? How many working people bring home, let alone would be able to spare, the necessary pounds 15,000-odd - after tax?

I work full time to earn less than half that amount net, and my husband, officially retired, must also work if we are to maintain a half- decent way of life - annual holiday, but no car. My aged mother died last year; the Alzheimer's disease that necessitated professional nursing care for her last few years also - a small mercy - spared her the realisation that the modest legacy intended by my late father to pass to me, their only child, had all been spent providing that care.

Yours faithfully,

ANN WORKMAN

Belfast

7 October