The Council is required to determine whether you are eligible for help with the payment of your fees.  This is in line with the Department of Health’s ‘Charging For Residential Accommodation Guide’.   To explain how this works we have summarised a number of the most important financial matters that may apply to you.

Your Income

When working out how much you may have to pay we have to include all your income.

This may include:

• State Retirement Pension
• Occupational Pension(s)
• Private Pensions
• Pension Credit, Income Support, Attendance/Disability Living Allowance, etc., and
• tariff income ie £1 per week for every £250 of your savings between the lower and upper capital limits currently £14,250 and £23,250 from 12 April 2011.

If you are currently receiving Attendance Allowance or the “care component” of Disability Living Allowance, these benefits will stop shortly after you enter a Care Home.  You will then start to pay less and the Council will pay more towards your fees to take account of this.

If at a later date you should leave the Care Home or your financial circumstances change and you no longer need help with the payment of your fees from the Council, you will need to notify the Department for Work and Pensions as soon as possible.  They will be able to advise you how to reclaim the benefits that you were getting before you entered a Care Home.

Any “mobility component” of Disability Living Allowance being paid to you before you entered a Care Home is not taken into account when working out what you will pay towards your fees.  Also this allowance may carry on being paid by the Department for Work and Pensions after admission to the Home.

Occupational Pension

The following regulations only apply to married couples and civil partnerships and are not allowed when a spouse is living in the same Care Home as the resident receiving the occupational pension.

A resident is able to pass 50% of an occupational or private pension to his or her spouse/partner remaining in the home.  If 50% of an occupational or private pension is passed to the spouse/partner this amount will be ignored in the financial assessment i.e. the Council’s contribution to the Care Home will increase accordingly. 

The Council will only recommend passing this money over to a spouse where it is of financial benefit to do so i.e. where such payments will not reduce the spouse’s/partners eligibility for the benefits i.e. Pension Credit.  The Advisor from the Welfare Rights and Assessments Team will be able to give advice on whether or not it is beneficial to the spouse remaining in the martial home to receive such payments.

Your capital

When working out what you will pay your capital will be taken into account. Capital includes monies held in bank and/or building society accounts, stocks, shares and the value of property or land which you own (see section 5 if you own property or land).  If you have capital of MORE than £23,250 you will not qualify for help with your care costs and you will have to pay your fees in full.

If you think that you will need help with your fees in the future i.e. your money will fall below the upper capital limit within the first six months of entering a Care Home, you must seek advice from Family Services before you enter a Care Home.  They can then make sure that you are arranging to go into a Care Home which is appropriate for the amount of care that you need.

Failure to do this may result in the Council not being able to fund your continued placement, if it is then determined that the placement is not appropriate for the amount of care that you need, and will not meet your assessed care needs.

If you have capital assets between £14,250 (lower capital limit) and £23,250 (upper capital limit) you may qualify for help with the cost of your care depending upon the level of your income.  The first £14,250 of your assets will be fully disregarded and any capital asset between £14,250 and £23,250 will be taken into account in the Council’s assessment of your finances.  The Department of Health rules require that you contribute £1 per week for every £250 or part of these savings towards the cost of your care.  This is known as tariff income.

If you own property or land

If you own property or land, the value of this will normally be taken into account when working out how much you will be asked to pay towards the cost of the Care Home’s fees, unless:

• You are entering a Home on a temporary basis
• The property is shared with a husband or wife, partner or civil partner who will remain in that property, or
• There is a relative who will continue to live there who is either:
  • Under 16 
  • Aged 60 or over, or
  • Incapacitated

If any of the above circumstances apply, the value of the property or land will be disregarded until your circumstances change.

If you own property, and none of the above situations apply, you will be eligible to have the value of your property disregarded by the Council for up to 12 weeks, starting from the day of your admission to permanent residential care.  This change is designed to offer you a ‘breathing space’ between entering residential care  permanently and deciding how best to fund your move.

After this initial disregarded period, the value of your property or land may take your capital over £23,250, in which case you will be liable for payment of the full fees.  However, you may not have enough weekly income to pay the full fees until the property is actually sold.  If this is the case the Council can make a contribution to the Care Home in respect of your share of the fees until the property is actually sold.  You will then have to pay this back to the Council once the property has been sold and you will become responsible for paying your own fees in full.

The Council has introduced a Deferred Payments Scheme, which means that, instead of having to sell your property straight away in order to fund your Care Home fees, you can wait until later to do so.  You will still get help from the Council with the cost of your fees.  The Council's contribution is called a 'deferred contribution' and you, or your estate, must pay this back when your home is eventually sold. 

Provided that you meet the criteria, you can take advantage of the Deferred Payments Scheme.  Further information is set out in a booklet called 'Paying For Your Care in a Home – The Council’s Deferred Payments Scheme'. You can get a copy from either your Social Worker or Care Co-ordinator or telephone 01924 305931.  There is also more information about the Deferred Payments Scheme in the related link.

Whilst ever the Council is helping you with the cost of your fees and you have  property or land you will have to make a contribution towards your fees based on the weekly income that you actually receive.

Have you considered funding yourself in total using state benefits?

It may be possible to fund accommodation costs and personal care costs from State Benefits and private income.  In certain circumstances this may benefit you financially because certain benefits such as Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance (Care Component) and Severe Disability Premiums are only payable if you fund yourself.  

You can get further advice on this from staff in the Welfare Rights Assessment Team and/or your Social Worker or Care Co-ordinator.  Your local Department for Works and Pensions can advise you on your entitlement to benefit.

It could be beneficial to:

• Those services users who do not wish to bother with the bureaucracy of making an application to the Local Authority.
• Those service users requiring the basic levels of care who are able to find accommodation at the Department's Allowable Rate.
• Those service users who have a third party willing to assist with fees.
• Those service users who have a property to sell and therefore require funding on a temporary basis until that property is sold.
• Those service users already self-funding who can continue to receive benefits described in this section.
• Those service users with substantial personal weekly income. 

It may also be possible to fund care in a Care Home where registered nursing care is needed but you would probably have to top-up your benefits from your capital.

Third party contribution

Failure to keep up the third party contribution will normally mean that the resident will have to move to cheaper accommodation. 

Failure to keep us assessed contributions may lead to eviction by the home.  If an appointee, financial representative or family member is responsible for the residents finances they must ensure that the resident has access to their weekly personal allowance.

An increase or decrease in the resident’s income will lead to a re-assessment of their contribution towards the cost of their care.  Any change in income will not affect the need for a third party contribution as this is calculated separately.