There are plenty of options when it comes to financing your care. From self-funding to applying to your local authority, there’s plenty of options when it comes to making sure that you have peace of mind when it comes to paying for care. Whether you’re looking for yourself or a loved one, we’ve put together a simple guide to help you through, and feel like you’re in a position where you can choose the best option for the circumstances you’re facing.
How do you pay for a care home?
One of the first things you’ll need to consider when looking for a care home in Weymouth is how you’re going to fund the stay. There are a number of factors that can affect how much the care could potentially cost and your eligibility for extra financial support from a number of sources:
- The type of care: – Residential / Nursing home or Home care services
- Where you live in the UK
- Whether the person needing care owns their own home or has investments
- Whether someone else lives in the owned home
- If the residential care room is private or shared
- The level of support your condition requires
Of course, there may be other factors that come into play during your search, but you can get an idea of eligibility for financial help, and how much care could cost by using the Which? cost of care calculator on their website.
Funding your own care and help from the NHS.
Which? state that out of over 400,000 people living in UK residential and nursing care homes, almost half pay for care themselves, and the rest have extra support from the NHS or their local authority.
Self-financing your care can come from a variety of sources including:
- Selling or letting property
- Private pensions
- State benefits
- Investments
- Other annuities
- NHS funding
As a self-funder you can choose which of your assets you’d wish to use and there are ways you could increase your income and give you peace of mind when it comes to care home fees. This could be something such as letting out owned properties to delay having to dip into savings – although you would need to weigh up the costs of doing this, particularly if there may be a chance that the property could be vacant for months at a time.
Self-funding your care in Weymouth
Also, if you’re self-funding make sure that you’re making the most of any state benefits that you’re entitled to such as:
- Attendance Allowance: not means tested but instead assessed on the level of care required. This is available to everyone who is self-funding their place.
- Pension Credit: this is means tested and will take into account your income and any assets.
- NHS Continuing Healthcare: this could help to pay for your care, but there are very strict eligibility criteria for this support. Find out more here on the NHS website.
- NHS-Funded Nursing Care: if receiving care from a nursing home, your chance of receiving this is much higher. The payment is usually made directly to the care home and the saving shown on your bill if nursing costs are included in your bill.
If you find that self-funding only covers a certain period of time and that assets have decreased below the threshold set by your local authority (for England it’s £23,250), you can begin the assessment process and the council will contribute to care home fees. What’s more, they’ll make sure the care you’re being provided matches your physical, mental and emotional needs.
What’s local authority funding?
If you are eligible for some support then you may find that your local authority can help to cover some or all of the care cost, depending on the financial circumstances.
Although this process will vary slightly depending on which country in the UK you’re living, you will need to begin with a free needs assessment which will help to establish the level of care that’s required. Once this has been completed, a financial assessment (or ‘means test’), will take into account your income, outgoings, assets and savings to determine whether they can help with the cost of care, and how much you could be entitled to.
You can find out who your local authority is via the gov.co.uk website.
What are care home top-up fees?
Although your local authority may agree to pay for a portion of the fees, you may need to rely on a third-party to make up the difference – and this is known as a top-up fee.
Residents won’t be able to pay for this themselves – as then it would be likely that they hadn’t met the local authority’s means test – but instead it usually comes from a relative, friend or charity who can provide proof that they can do so, and who are happy to sign a written agreement from the local authority.
Care home top-up fees can occur during instances where the local authority aren’t prepared to pay for extras such as larger standard rooms or better views, living in an expensive area to be close to family or money has run from self-funding and you choose to stay in a more expensive care home, rather than moving to one that’s lower cost but can still provide the level of care needed.
Financing your care at our Weymouth Care Home
At Friary Care, we accept all forms of financial support at each of our two quality Weymouth care homes. To speak to us in more detail about financing your care and find out more about the care and support we can provide, please get in touch with our friendly team on 01305 787811.
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