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Paying for care

Carer with older man

How we work out what you have to pay towards help at home or in a care home, where to get independent financial advice and what to do about benefits

  • Paying for your care and support 

    You should expect to pay towards the cost of your care. The amount you pay depends on your level of need and the value of your income, savings and assets.

  • Paying for your own care - self-funder 

    If you’re paying the full cost of your care to live independently at home or in a care home, you’re known as a self-funder.

  • Independent financial advice 

    If you’re planning for care needs for the future, it is important to get appropriate financial advice

  • Managing someone else's affairs 

    You can apply for the right to look after financial and legal affairs and make decisions for someone else if they aren’t able to do it for themselves.

  • Financial assessment for care at home 

    If your care and support assessment shows that you have eligible needs, you can have a financial assessment to work out how much you’ll need to pay towards your care in your own home, in someone else’s home (shared lives), supported living or extra-care housing.

  • Personal budgets 

    Your personal budget is the total amount of money allocated to you to meet your care and support needs, as agreed in your support plan, following your care and support assessment.

  • The Future of Social Care 

    The Government’s White Paper sets out a 10-year vision of how it proposes to transform support and care in England.

  • Direct payments 

    If you’re eligible for a personal budget, you can have this money as a direct payment. This means that you can arrange your support directly with the person or organisation you want to use instead of the council arranging services for you.

  • Direct payment cards 

    A direct payment card is a pre-paid card which is similar to a normal debit card.  You use the card to pay your care and support providers.

  • Disabled facilities grant 

    You may be able to get money to help you make changes to your home. The Disabled Facilities Grant can help you with home adaptations costing over £1,000.

  • Financial assessment for a care home 

    If your care and support assessment shows that you have eligible needs, you can have a financial assessment to work out how much you’ll need to pay towards your care home.

  • Using your home to pay for a care home 

    You won’t have to sell your home in your lifetime to pay the cost of a care home.

  • Care homes costing more than we will pay 

    If you choose a care home that costs more than we have allocated for your care, you or someone else will have to make extra payments to cover the shortfall. These are known as ‘top-ups’.

  • Changes to benefits when you go into a care home 

    Some of the benefits you and your carer (or your husband, wife, civil or unmarried partner if they’re not your carer) get will stop or change because you’re no longer living at home.

  • Benefits for adults 

    You may be able to claim benefits or get financial help.

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