SOMEONE once said that the art of living is to die young, but as late as possible. This motto nicely sums up the romantic view most people have of what life will be like in retirement, when, after years of working to pay off their mortgage, couples can enjoy their golden years.

Of course the reality is very different.

Unforeseen illnesses and accidents mean some will spend their last years being looked after 24 hours a day in a care home at a cost of up to £700 a week or more.

Just how - and more importantly who - pays for this lifesaving care is often complicated, even unfair, and comes at a time of great emotional strain for those involved.

In Britain, more than 70,000 elderly people each year are forced to sell their homes to cover the cost of their care home, thus selling off a sizeable proportion of their children's inheritance in the process.

This is particularly the case in Hampshire where older people tend to be capital rich - thanks to the (once) soaring value of their homes - but income poor.

The latest population projection figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed there are currently 224,400 people aged over 65 living in Hampshire, excluding Southampton and Portsmouth. That number is set to soar by 70 per cent to 324,300 by the year 2025.

Sadly a longer life doesn't necessarily mean a longer, healthier life. In 1981, the expected time a man would live in poor health was 6.5 years. By 2001 this had risen to 8.7 years, while women can now expect to live in poor health for 11.6 years.

The majority of older people in Hampshire are able to live independently with the support of their family and local community, but about three in every 1,000 people aged 65 to 74 live in a nursing or residential home. That figure jumps to one in four after the age of 90.

With the aging "baby boomer" population set to heap even more pressure on already overstretched resources, PrimeMinister Gordon Brown this week announced that the funding of social care needed to be changed.

The most contentious issue is the meanstested system, which some believe penalises people who have saved their hard-earned cash.

Currently anyone with assets of more than £22,250 has to pay for their own social care - whether they live in a nursing home or their own home - while anyone below that threshold receives contributions from the state.

Don Harper, secretary of Southampton Pensioners' Forum, said his members had come to a consensus at a recent meeting that care should be free - similar to the system in Scotland.

"It's very depressing to pay your mortgage all your life, then have to sell your home to pay for your care.

"Especially nowadays, when you have some people who live on benefits all their life and then when they get older they get everything for free - whereas someone who has tried to look after themselves and provide for their retirement are kicked in the teeth," he said.

It is estimated that people over 60 now own property assets worth £1.1 trillion and one in six hopes to leave an estate worth £150,000 to their children when they die.

Chris Perry, director of Age Concern Hampshire, denied these figures were proof the current funding crisis was the result of baby boomers being unwilling to fork out on care.

"The baby boomers have been the hardest hit of any generation because they've had to make provision for their elders and they've had to meet the education costs of their children,"

he said.

"So they've actually been funding the generations above and below and now they are coming into the situation where the generation below are saying they are not prepared to fund them and that is almost criminal."

The Government is now looking at the merits of introducing an aging tax in the form of a compulsory levy to be paid by all taxpayers during the course of their life.

The idea is that if every adult makes a contribution, the risk of high costs hitting each household later in life is reduced.

While funding is a vital part of the debate, it is not just about money.

It is also a question of individual choice and empowering elderly people to live as independently as possible for as long as possible.

Hampshire County Council is one step ahead of the rest of the country as it has already set up a special inquiry to help shape future services for people in need of support and care.

Everything from meals on wheels to providing nursing home beds will come under the microscope in the biggest care debate ever launched in the county.

Personal care budgets for clients is the single most important issue. It is hoped that by giving individuals control of the purse strings for their social care - from hiring carers to buying equipment - it will cut out bureaucracy, save money and close the inequity gap.

Council leader Ken Thornber said: "Whereas in the past we had a limited range of packages of care that people are fitted into, personalisation means considering a person as an individual with needs and a circle of family, friends, and other support mechanisms.

"So it will be about more choice, more dignity and far more independence."