Financial assessment for care at home. Published by Home Care UK.

If your local authority decides you are eligible and provides you with support, they must look at your financial circumstances. The financial assessment for care at home decides whether you have to pay for some of the costs or receive care services for free.

Generally, the more money that you have, the more you will have to pay. There are capital limits, which vary from country to country.

For example, in England, your council will generally help you with care costs if you have less than £23,250 in savings.

How the financial assessment works

During the test, a Financial Assessment Officer from your local council will visit you to ask about your income and your capital.

If you are receiving care in your own home as opposed to living in a care home, the value of your property will not be included.

What does the means test for home care involve?

To calculate how much you will have to contribute towards your care, the financial assessment looks at:

• Earnings
• Pensions
• Benefits
• Savings

If you receive home care, you may be entitled to a variety of benefits. Some types of income, such as payments from the mobility part of Disability Living Allowance, will not be considered.

The assessment officer will assume you are receiving all benefits you are entitled to even if you are not currently claiming them.

If you receive income as part of a couple, only your share will be taken into account. The assessment will also ignore the value of your possessions and any life insurance policies.

If you try to reduce your wealth on purpose to avoid paying for care, known as deprivation of assets, your council may refuse to provide any type of financial support.

What you need for a financial assessment

To make the assessment as smooth as possible and to ensure that you receive the correct amount of support you are entitled to, make sure you have all the information at hand when the financial offer visits.

• Details of savings in bank accounts, building societies, premium bonds and individual savings accounts (ISAs)
• Any stocks and shares that you own
• Any disability-related expenses

How much will you have to pay for your care?

How much you need to pay yourself, or if the care and support will be provided for free, depends on where you live in the UK and how much money and assets you have.

England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have different capital limits and ways to determine if, and how much, you will have to pay.

Capital limits for help with home care costs

England

• Over £23,250 – you have to pay for care services in full
• Between £14,500 and £23,250 – your local council pays for some of the costs
• Less than £14,500 – Only your eligible income is included in the test, and the council pays for your care

Wales

• Upper limit – £24,000

In Wales, local authorities can only charge you a maximum of £90 per week for home care services regardless of how much you have in savings. This means that even if you have more than £24,000 in savings, you will only be charged a maximum of £90 a week and the council will cover the rest.

If you have less than £24,000 in savings, the means test only looks at your income and you will only pay as much as you can afford while still having a liveable income.

Scotland

Those over the age of 65 in Scotland can receive free personal care if they are assessed as needing it, regardless of income, savings and assets.

Local authorities in Scotland have different policies on how much they will charge you for care and support, but guidelines from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) recommends that the first £10,000 should be ignored if you are over state pension age.

If you are below state pension age, the first £6,000 will be disregarded.

If you have capital over these amounts, a weekly tariff income of £1 per £500 over £10,000 is assumed if you are over state pension age, and £1 per £250 over £6,000 if you are below state pension age.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, how much you have to pay also depends on where in the country you live. Each local Health and Social Care Trust determines what help you are entitled to and how much you should contribute.

Contact your local Trust for more information:

• Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
• Northern Health and Social Care Trust
• South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
• Southern Health and Social Care Trust
• Western Health and Social Care Trust

For more detailed information on how to pay for home care costs, read our guide to paying for care at home.

What happens after the financial assessment?

Following the means test, your council will provide you with written records of their assessment and decision about how much you need to contribute.

If you qualify for financial support, your local authority will provide you with a personal budget, which is money you can spend on care costs.

You can either receive money through direct payments into your bank account each month or have the council organise the care for you, which they will then bill you for.

If the financial assessment shows that you do not qualify for help with home care costs, you must pay for all the costs yourself.

If you have any questions about the assessment, contact the council.

If you are unhappy with the financial assessment

If you disagree with the results of the means test and think that you do qualify for support or that you should pay less than the assessment shows, you should first contact your council to complain.

If you want to take it further, get in touch with your local social care ombudsman.