Qualification for Care Funding

Do you qualify for care funding?

How to pay for Home Care?

Funding home care depends on your personal circumstances as they will tell if you are eligible to receive public funding or access other finance options.

The majority of our customers are funding the care themselves but we recommend that you first research to see if there are any benefits available for you. To help with that we are providing some advice on paying for home care.

Who qualifies for care funding?

Firstly, you need to identify the type of funding you need, whether it’s healthcare funding or social care funding and then you can check if you may be entitled to it.

Please see below the definitions from National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care:

Social Care

In general terms (not a legal definition) it can be said that a social care need is one that is focused on providing assistance with activities of daily living, maintaining independence, social interaction, enabling the individual to play a fuller part in society, protecting them in vulnerable situations, helping them to manage complex relationships and (in some circumstances) accessing a care home or other supported accommodation.

Healthcare

Whilst there is not a legal definition of a healthcare need (in the context of NHS continuing healthcare), in general terms it can be said that such a need is one related to the treatment, control or prevention of a disease, illness, injury or disability, and the care or aftercare of a person with these needs (whether or not the tasks involved have to be carried out by a health professional).

How much will you need to pay for care?

If your savings and investments exceed £23,250 ( in England) your local authority will expect you to pay for your care in full. However, the value of your own property will not be taken into account as part of your assets.

You should get in touch with your local authority for a Financial Assessment to see if you qualify for help towards the care costs and the Adults Social Service will calculate:

What happens in a financial assessment?

Your local authority will assess your assets. They will send a Financial Assessment Officer to visit you at home to look at your:

When you have provided them with all of your financial information they will conduct a review and inform you whether you are eligible to have all, some, or none of your home care paid for by Social Services. Local authorities tend to help to pay for your care if your assets total is less than £23,250.

They will decide if you are you eligible to receive support and if it would be provided via direct payments as part of your personal budget. The local authority will also reassess your eligibility on an annual basis.

Joint saving

When you are undergoing your financial assessment, only the proportion of any assets that you are deemed to own are considered. For example, if you have £20,000 in a joint savings account, only £10,000 will be taken into consideration.

Important Notice

The information that we have provided regarding home care benefit entitlement is based on information provided by https://www.gov.uk/

You should get in touch with your local authority so that they can assess your individual circumstances and provide you with information regarding the full range of benefits that you are entitled to receive.

Home care benefit entitlement

Please, remember to explore options for the care benefit entitlement.

Below we review some of the main benefits that may be available. However, depending on individual needs and circumstances, other benefits may be available.

You can find further information on all the benefits that are available here: https://www.gov.uk/browse/benefits

Pension Credits

Pension Credit is a home care benefit entitlement that is available for people over the age of 65, the benefits are split into two parts – Savings Credit and Guarantee Credit.

Guarantee Credit is a benefit that provides a minimum level of guaranteed income by topping up your weekly pension if it is below a certain threshold, and varies depending on whether you are single or living with a partner. They also vary based on individual needs and circumstances, and will be assessed when you apply.
Savings Credit is an additional payment for people who have made provisions for their retirement such as second pensions, investments, and savings. The amount of benefit that you will receive will vary depending on whether you are single or live with a partner.

You may also be entitled to additional funds depending on individual circumstances such as if you are disabled or responsible for a child.

More information on Pension Credits are available here: https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit

Disability Living Allowance (DLA) the Personal Independence Payment (PIP)in the past

This is a benefit that assists with extra costs for those who have long term health conditions or disabilities.

To be eligible for DLA you must:

For more information on Disability Living Allowance, you can visit: https://www.gov.uk/pip

Attendance Allowance

Attendance Allowance is a benefit that is free from tax for people who are aged 65 and over who need assistance with personal care due to a physical or mental disability. The benefit is paid at two different rates dependent on how much care and support are required.

Typically, to qualify for Attendance Allowance the person must be 65 and over and have at least one of the following:

You can view more information about Attendance Allowance here: https://www.gov.uk/attendance-allowance

Carer’s Allowance

People who care for a disabled person can receive benefits as a Carer’s Allowance. They don’t have to be related to or live with the person that they care for.

To qualify for Carer’s Allowance they should be:

When receiving Carer’s Allowance you also receive National Insurance Credits for each week that you receive Carer’s Allowance which is paid automatically. You may also qualify for other benefits.

You can find out more information about Carer’s Allowance here: https://www.gov.uk/carers-allowance

Council Tax Reduction

You can get your council tax discounted with a Council Tax Reduction, formerly Council Tax Benefit, depending on your circumstances.

To be entitled for a Council Tax Reduction the following will be considered:

You can find further information on Council Tax Reduction here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-council-tax-reduction

Continuing Healthcare Funding (CHC Funding)

People who require complex or palliative care, or who have ongoing health conditions may be eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding (CHC Funding)/CCG.

It provides a continuing care package at home and it is fully funded by the NHS/CCG and is available on a permanent or temporary basis, depending on the circumstances. We have summarised CHC for you below, but you can read about it in full here.

Am I eligible for CHC funds?

Individual needs will need to be assessed to determine if you qualify for continuing healthcare. An assessment can be requested by contacting the local Clinical Commissioning Group CCG directly or via the local GP.

A Social Worker will initially assess the person’s needs to determine if you are eligible for a full assessment or if you are not eligible at all. You will be assessed based on your specific care needs due to ongoing health condition.

After the successful initial assessment a full Continuing Healthcare assessment will be conducted by a team of healthcare professionals who will consider the following:

To make sure that your opinions and wishes are considered, you should always be fully involved in the assessment. It should always also be undertaken with at least two healthcare professionals who are already involved in your care.

The types of different needs that will be assessed include; mobility, medication, cognition, nutrition, and breathing. Each will be graded as either; no needs, low, moderate, high, severe, or priority.

The local CCG is approving the assessment’s outcome and establish a care package based on the individual requirements. In special instances, a fast track continuing healthcare assessment and package can be implemented for those whose conditions are deteriorating rapidly.

What are Personal Budgets?

Clients who have ongoing healthcare needs may be awarded an allocation of money by the Social Services or NHS to support them, these are known as a Personal Health Budgets. The money is paid directly to the person in need of care so that the money can be used for a care provider of their choice.

This has to be assessed first by Social Services or an NHS Assessor, to decide on: which care package is needed, how many hours a week and what quotation we are talking about is made by any of these two bodies. When a Personal Budget is agreed, any of these organisations will monitor the way you spend the money given to you.

Those who receive NHS Continuing Healthcare are also eligible to receive a Personal Budget which provides them with more independence, involvement, and flexibility in their care plan.

Personal Budgets allow those who qualify for it to use the money to organise care with the NHS to identify suitable options or use it directly to choose their own home care company.

What is Long Term Care Insurance?

An Immediate Needs Annuity, also known as Long Term Care Insurance, is a type of insurance which guarantees a regular income to cover the costs of care. There are several different terms for Immediate Needs Annuity, including:

Immediate Needs Annuities pay your registered care provider a regular tax-free income for the remainder of your life. A one-off payment is required in order to purchase a plan which is determined by the following factors:

There is no fixed price as each plan is tailored around individual needs and priorities. There are multiple Immediate Needs Annuities available so you should always shop around to find the best one for you.