Advice on Funding

The funding of nursing care is a complex issue, as is dependent on a number of individual factors including nursing requirements, personal needs and financial circumstances.

Generally, there are three bands of support that can be used when paying for care:

1. Personal Capital Less Than £12,500: the local authority should pay for the cost of your residential or nursing home care if your capital is less than £12,500 although benefits such as income support or retirement pensions will be taken into account.
2. Personal Capital Between £12,500 -£20,500: the local authority should still pay for your accommodation and personal care if your capital is between £12,500 -£20,500 (for every £250 you have over £12,500, they will subtract £1 per week from the money they contribute towards your care), therefore, it is expected that you will have to make a small contribution from your own savings. It is also worth noting that if you want a more expensive Care Centre than the authority is willing to pay for, you are allowed to arrange a ‘third party contribution’ or ‘top up’ from another source such as a relative, friend or charity.
3. Personal Capital over £20,500: you personally will have to pay the full costs of accommodation and personal care yourself if your capital is over £20,500

If your capital was to fall below £20,500 while you are in a care home, you should become eligible for help from the local authority. Your home is included in your assets only if you live alone, or both of you as a couple are moving into care homes. The local authority may disregard the value of your home for 12 weeks after your admission to permanent nursing or residential care. You will be expected to use all your income - including your pension and benefits to fund your care.

NHS Contributions

Even if you are paying all your own fees, the NHS now makes a contribution to your nursing costs.

The NHS will pay a contribution towards the nursing part of your care that they determine needs to be provided by a registered nurse in a nursing home. From April 2005 the payment was £40, £80, or £129 per week, depending on whether the nursing needs are assessed as low, medium or high. This contribution applies whether care is funded privately or by the local authority. If you are paying your fees yourself, you will still have to pay for accommodation and personal care.

Insurance

Care insurance may be suitable if you are currently considering moving into a care home. It will involve paying a large sum at the time you decide you need care and the cost is based on how long the insurer thinks you will need care for, and the level of care that you will need. Whilst the cost may initially seem a large amount, it should provide a fixed payment for as long as you need the care and should protect the rest of your assets (although this must be confirmed by your IFA or insurer). The payments are tax-free if they are made directly to a care home and are portable if you decide to move to a different home. Long-term care insurance (where you pay premiums over a lengthy period before you actually need care) is more difficult to find nowadays but if you have already taken out one of these policies it should still be honoured by that insurer but you should check first and not make presumptions. All policies are of course different so Titleworth suggest that you speak to an independent financial adviser (IFA) who specialises in care fees planning.

Pertinent questions to ask may be: (a) What are the benefits and for how long will I receive them? (b) What is the maximum amount the insurer will pay out per month? (c) Should I take out capital protection so that the balance of any lump sum is returned to my estate? (d) Are the benefits paid to me so that I can arrange my own care, or paid directly to the care home? (e) Are the benefits protected against inflation?

Further Advice

Organisations offering specialist care advice are:

• Insurers who specialise in care fees planning
• Kingston or Merton Social Services departments
• Independent financial advisers
• Age Concern (0808 808 6060)
• Counsel and Care (0845 300 7585)
• The Benefits Agency (0800 88 22 00)
• The Nursing Homes Fees Agency (0800 99 88 33)
• Insurers who specialist in care fees planning
• Help the Aged (0808 800 6565)

Please note that Titleworth Healthcare Ltd has used all reasonable care and skill in compiling the content of this webpage but makes no warranty as to the accuracy of any information on this website and cannot accept liability for any errors or omissions