Paying for Residentialand Nursing Care

Paying for residentialand nursing care

Newham Council wants to help residents live in their own home asindependently as possible and we have a range of help and support availableto enable this to happen. For some people this is not always possible and 24hour support is required. In these cases a move to a residential or nursingcare home may be arranged.

Will I have to pay for my care?

If you are unable to meet the full cost of the residential or nursing care homeyou can contact the council for financial support. Most people moving intoa care home will have to contribute towards the cost of their care. However,you will not be asked to pay towards your care if your placement falls underone of the following three categories:

• The NHS is paying for your car e home in full. This is called Continuing NHSHealth Care.

• Your care is part of a package of Intermediate Car e where you are havingshort term therapy ortreatment, either following a hospital stay or to avoidhaving to go into hospital for a period of up to six weeks.

• You are receiving care under section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983.

If you do have to pay towardsthe cost of your care, how muchyou contribute will depend on theamount of savings, income andassets that you have.

How much will it cost?

You will be asked to complete afinancial assessment form andprovide evidence of your incomeorbenefits, capital and assets. This willenable us to calculate how muchyou may need tocontribute towardsthe cost of your care.You will have to pay the full cost ofyour care home if:

• your saving and assets, includingthe value of any property owned,are more than £23,250

• your weekly income is more thanthe cost of your care home.We will ignore the value of yourhome if the property is occupied by

• your husband, wife or partner

• a relative who is over 60 and isincapacitated

• a dependent child

• someone who gave up their hometo come and live and care for you.

For all other customers, the amountyou contribute will depend on howmuch money you receive every weekin benefits and how much you havein savings and other assets. Thiswill usually be all of your incomeless a personal allowance which iscurrently £24.90.We ignore some types of incomesuch as Disability Living Allowanceor Attendance Allowance and maygive you some extra allowancesaccording to your needs.

Case Study

Mrs Smith has been offered a placein a care home that costs £440 perweek. She receives a retirementpension of £115.95 a week andPension Credit (the guaranteed partnot the savings part) of £43.40.

Mrs Smith’s income £159.35

Minus personal allowance £24.90

Mrs Smith’s totalweekly contribution £134.45

Mrs Smith will pay £134.45 a weektowards the cost of the care home.

The balance of £305.55 a week willbe paid by the council.

Will my state benefits be affectedwhen I go into a care home?

Your benefits may be affected whenyou go into a care home. You shouldcontact the Department for Worksand Pensions (DWP) (Call: 0800 99 1234, Textphone: 0800 169 0133) for advice assoon as you go into the care hometo avoid being overpaid.

Will I have to sell my home?

We ignore the value of your propertyfor the first 12 weeks of your stayin the care home. This is to give you time to plan for your futureneeds. If during this time you decideyou either do not wish to sell theproperty at the present time or youare arranging to sell, we can enterinto a deferred payment agreementwith you, this will depend on if you meet the criteria set out in the Deferred Payment Agreement Policy. This is like a loan whichenables you to meet the cost of yourcare home and any money paid bythe council is paid back once yousell the property or leave the carehome. You will be contacted by a Member of the Financial Assessment & Charging Team to discuss this in more detail.

If I am married or living with apartner, will you include theirincome when you work out howmuch I have to pay?

If you are married or living with apartner and you go into a care homeon your own, we will only assessyour financial resources.Even if both you and your partnerare going into care together, we willassess your finances individually towork out how much you will eachhave to contribute towards the costof your own care.

What if I am only going into thehome for a short period of time?

This may be for a short break foreither you or your carer for up toeight weeks or in anemergencysituation.If the short stay is for a break foryour carer whilst they take a breakthen there will be no charge. Forother stays, we will work out howmuch you have to pay in the sameway as if your stay was permanent.However, we will not take the valueof your home into account and youmay have a number of on-goingexpenses incurred in relation to yourhome such as mortgage paymentsor utility bills, which may be takeninto account.

When will the charges start?

The charges start from the day youmove into the care home. If weare unable to complete a financialassessment form with you beforeyou move in, we will charge you at aprovisional rate depending on yourage as follows:

• Over 60 £34.45 a week

• 25 – 59 £80.45 a week

Once we have received the financialassessment form, we will assessyour finances back to the date thatyou went into the care home. Ifyou do not complete the financialassessment form, we will charge you the full cost of the care homebackdated to the date you went in.

How do I pay for my care?

You will usually pay yourcontribution to the care home. In some circumstanceswe will issue you with 4 weeklyinvoices directly from the council.There may be a slight delay from thetime you go into the care home upto the point that we tell you whatyour contribution should be. Duringthis time you should make sure thatyou keep sufficient funds to be ableto meet your contribution towardsthe cost of the care home onceinvoices are issued.

What happens if I don’t pay?

If you don’t pay your contributionwe may take recovery action, whichmay involve legal proceedings, thecosts of which you may be liableto pay.

Where can I get furtherinformation?

The information given in this bookletis for guidance only and does notreplace the Care Act 2014. For more detailedinformation, especially around whathappens if you own a propertyor the types of income that aretaken into account and top-uparrangements, you can:

• visit

• email the Financial Assessment& Charging team call them on 0203 373 1184.

We recommend thatyou should take independent financial and legal advice to help you decide which course of action will be financially better for you.