SAGA — Doing things properly

With financial help

If you have less than the upper assets limit (£21,500 in Scotland, £22,250 in England and Northern Ireland, £22,000 in Wales), you will receive some financial help from your local authority but will still be expected to contribute to care-home fees.

How Much

Assets below a lower limit (£13,000 in Scotland, £13,500 in England and Northern Ireland, £19,000 in Wales for 2008/2009) are ignored. You will pay £1 a week for each £250 of assets above this. You must also pay your occupational and state pension to the council, plus any benefits you are entitled to. The only income you can keep is £21.15 a week (£21.38 in Wales) for personal expenses.

Top up Fees

The local authority will normally pay for your care only up to an agreed limit, which may restrict your choice of home. If you want to go somewhere more expensive, your relatives or another third party must pay ‘top-up fees’ to make good the shortfall.

Self-funded

If you have more than the upper assets limit (see with financial help) you are not eligible for help from your local authority and therefore must pay your own care home fees. You normally agree a contract directly with the care of a nursing home. You may be charged substantially more than the local authority pays, because councils block book a sizeable number of places and can negotiate a cheaper price.

Twelve week disregard

If your house is your main asset and your savings and investments come to less than £22,250 you may not have to pay for your own care home place immediately. If you have been assessed as requiring a permanent place and your income doesn’t cover the fees, the local authority must disregard the value of your home for the first 12 weeks of your care and help with payment as if you did not own property. It will pay only up to its standard rate and you will be expected to hand over all your income (except £21.15 a week for personal expenses).

Deferred Payments

After 12 weeks, local authorities run ‘deferred payment schemes’, where they can pay towards your care home fees, up to their standard rate, for as long as you live. Normally, you continue paying what you can from your income towards the cost. When you die, they claim back the outstanding cost of this interest–free loan from the sale of your house.