New research shows massive regional differences in the cost of care, with residents in Oxfordshire paying an average of £955 a week, compared to Lancashire where the average cost of care is almost half of that amount ,at £531 a week.

Others in the top five chargers are Surrey, Greater London, Bristol and Wiltshire. Just behind Lancashire at the lower end of fees are the West Midlands, Merseyside and South Yorkshire.

The research was carried out by Trustedcare, a comparison website for social care services. The site also analysed Care Quality Commission reports in order to highlight which regions in England offer the highest and lowest quality of care. Again there was a distinct north / south demarcation.

On this measure, Worcestershire emerged top, followed by Rutland, Herefordshire, Berkshire and Cambridgeshire.

West Yorkshire was ranked lowest, with Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Northumberland and Staffordshire following them.

The variations demonstrate the need for anyone planning care costs into their future finances to take full account of the wide variations that apply around the country.

You can readily build these costs into your RetireEasy LifePlan – either a fixed part of your future plans, or as an alternative scenario.

There is a simple way to get a firm grip on all your choices: the Premium version of the RetireEasy LifePlan has a simple to use “scenario function”.

First, key in all your “known” parameters – your future income, assets and outgoings together with your desired income during each year of your retirement and save this as your “master template”.

You can then try out and save as many different scenarios as you wish – projecting, for instance, when and how much you might inherit in the future and seeing how this will impact your finances, and how much you could afford to pass down to younger members of the family.

Equally, if you are looking to pass on wealth in the future, you can see what effect gifting members of your family during your lifetime will have on your finances. This can also play a key role in managing future inheritance tax liabilities while ensuring you can live comfortably.

Knowledge is power – so make sure you know exactly what YOUR future might hold!