One of the measures of a civilised society is how it treats its elderly and long-term incapacitated. It should therefore be of concern to each and every one of us to learn that the NHS is unlikely to be able to cope with the increasing incidence of dementia over then next 20 years, as an aging population puts increasing strain on resources.

Unfortunately, far too little in the way of resources (about 3% of the NHS research budget, we are told) are allocated to this area to make any likelihood of prevention or cure being available for a very long time to come. So getting ill in old age is not a good idea.

Dementia is a pernicious thing; it can creep up gradually and is initially difficult to diagnose (except in the case of early onset) as it can simply look like natural aging. This makes sufferers and relative less likely to spot signs early enough.

Currently it is our parents who are affected; the generation that fought in the Second World War and suffered the privations of the 1950s while the current welfare state was being built up. They are also the people who have paid in for many years; frequently making few calls on the state for support. They deserve better consideration now.

But this is also about us. If you are currently 50 or over, then by the time you are 80, you may well find not only that the NHS cannot cope with dementia but also – according to a recent open letter (see BBC news site) sent by a group of leading scientists to Health Secretary Alan Johnson – could have collapsed altogether.

We pay our National Insurance (and so many other taxes) as part of a contract between us and our government that implies they will use our money wisely to provide benefit for us. Failure to do so is a culpable breach of trust.

However, since we have no real control over what they do in our name, the need to provide even more for our own use later in life is even more evident. One option may be to use income drawdown in order to generate a flexible income that can be used to respond to our changing needs. You can find out what level of annuity you might be able to achieve by visiting the annuities calculator.