Fees and Funding

Where it is likely that you have insufficient capital to pay the care home fees, the local authority will do a financial assessment to determine whether you are eligible for local authority funding. The state provides care for those with insufficient funds to pay their own costs; if they feel that you do have sufficient means you will be required to pay at least some of the fees.

• If your capital exceeds £ 23,000 (England) then you will not be entitled to any funding.
• If your capital is between £14,000 – £23,000 (England), local authority may pay for some of the care home costs.
• If your capital is less than £14,000 (England) the local authority will pay for residential or nursing home costs.

If your mother has capital of over £23,000 (in England; £22,000 in Wales) she will not qualify for assistance from the local authority until such a time as her capital is below this amount. Any private care fees will therefore have to be met from existing capital and income. (If she has assets below £23,000, she would get increasing help on a sliding scale down to the lower limit of £14,250, where no contribution is needed)

Most savings and assets are included in a means test, but some confusion has surrounded the subject of whether or not a person’s home is included. To help clarify the situation, a person’s home is not included in the means test if:

• Your father still resides in the home
• If a relative over 60 resides in the house
• If a disabled relative lives at the property
• If a child under 16 lives in the property
• She is in the first 12 weeks of needing permanent care
• The care is being provided on a temporary basis

If you are funded by the local authority, you will be expected to use all of your income, including your pension and benefits to help fund your care except for a nominal sum of £21.90 (England) per week for your day-to-day spending money. However, if you are paid the mobility component of the disability living allowance, you will continue to get this. If you are over 65, you will also be entitled to up to £5.25 per week of any savings credit.

When the local authority completes their financial assessment, they will look at all of your assets including your home and pensions. They will only include your home if you live alone or if both of you are moving into a care home. There are specific rules regarding whether certain close relatives are able to continue to live at the home.

If you are entitled to full local authority funding and the home that you choose is more expensive than the local authority is willing to pay, a 3rd party contribution may be paid. This contribution cannot be paid by the prospective resident themselves for legal reasons; however, someone else can do so such as a friend or family member.

If you require nursing care, you will be entitled to a contribution from the NHS towards the cost of the care that a registered nurse provides, regardless of whether you are privately or local authority funded. This is called the Registered Nursing Care Contribution (RNCC).

Where someone needs ongoing specialist medical treatment, the state will pay for the full cost of care; this is called continuing care. If you think that you might be entitled to continuing care, you should discuss this with your GP, hospital or care home staff. A referral may be made by the care home on behalf of a resident if they feel that the resident’s needs have increased such that they may be entitled to continuing care funding.

An assessment is undertaken to decide whether someone is entitled to continuing care; there is an appeal process in the event that an application is turned down.

If your capital falls below the upper limit whilst you are in a care home, you become ‘depleted’ and therefore you will be eligible for funding from the local authority. It is important that you keep the care home manager informed if this is likely to happen so that they can help you arrange the appropriate funding.

It is possible that the local authority may be able to support you in your own home; however, this is down to individual authorities. They may assess your ability to contribute towards these costs just the same as if you required assistance with care home fees and you may be required to pay all or part of the costs accordingly.

You may be entitled to additional benefits to enable you to stay in your home as long as possible including: disability living allowance, attendance allowance and carers’ allowance. Some benefits are not means tested – the Benefits Agency should be able to offer advice (tel: 0800 009 966).

Paying for care is a complex subject, and everybody’s situation is different. You should seek advice about your own personal circumstances from organisations such as:

• Social Services
• Benefits Agency (0800 882 200)
• Age Concern (0800 009 966)
• Counsel and Care (0845 300 7585)
• Elder care (01707 368 936)