Financial assessment for care at home

What is a financial assessment for home care?

If you or a loved one may benefit from receiving care at home, it’s essential to understand the financial support available to help cover the costs.

When home care is arranged through your local council rather than privately, the council will assess your financial situation to determine if you need to contribute to the cost – and if so, how much. This is known as a financial assessment or means test.

What does a financial assessment involve?

A financial assessment evaluates your income and assets to calculate how much support you’re entitled to – or whether you’ll need to self-fund some or all of your care.

This means test is usually done after or alongside a care needs assessment, which identifies the type and level of care you require.

Key Points:

• The more income and capital you have, the more you may be asked to pay.
• If you live in your own home and receive home care (not in a care home), the value of your home is not included in the assessment.

Generally, the more money that you have, the more you will have to pay.

How does a financial assessment work?

During the test, a Financial Assessment Officer from your local council will ask about your income and your capital. This may be in person or over the phone.

If you are receiving care in your own home as opposed to living in a care home, the value of your home will not be included in the assessment so long as you will continue to live there.

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.

It’s important that you understand the support you’re entitled to because the assessment officer will assume you are receiving the benefits you are eligible for 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 do 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?

As well as your personal assets, how much you pay towards your care will also depend on the capital limits in the country you live in. Capital limits are a set amount of money that you can have before you are required to contribute towards the cost of your care.

How much will you have to pay?

How much you contribute depends on your assets and the capital limits in your part of the UK. These thresholds vary by region:

England

• Over £23,250: You pay the full cost of care
• £14,250–£23,250: You contribute part of the cost
• Below £14,250: Only your income is considered; the council pays the rest

Wales

• Upper capital limit: £24,000
• Regardless of savings, councils can charge no more than £100/week for home care.
• Below £24,000: Only income is assessed

Scotland

• Personal and nursing care is free for those assessed as needing it—regardless of income or savings.
• Each local authority sets its own charging policy for other care costs.
• COSLA guidelines:
  • First £10,000 of capital is disregarded (over state pension age)
  • First £6,000 is disregarded (under state pension age)
  • A tariff income may be assumed for savings above these thresholds

Northern Ireland

• Each Health and Social Care Trust determines eligibility and contribution levels.
• Contact your local Trust for details:
  • Belfast, Northern, South Eastern, Southern, or Western HSC 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. This is money you can spend on care costs.

You can either receive money through direct payments into your bank account each month. Or the council will 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.

Contact the council if you have any questions about the assessment.

What if you are unhappy with the financial assessment?

You should contact the council first, 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.

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