One of the biggest concerns you’ll likely have when considering life planning and social care for yourself or that of a loved one is how much it’s all going to cost and how best to go about funding it.
It is possible that you might be eligible for help from your local council to put towards the associated costs if you have less than £23,250 in savings. Exactly how much the council will provide will depend on the type of care you need and how much of it you can afford to pay yourself.
Care needs assessment
Before you can make any decisions regarding care funding, a free needs assessment will have to be conducted, where someone from the council such as an occupational therapist or social worker asks you a range of questions to determine your specific set of requirements.
For example, they might ask how well you manage typical daily tasks such as cooking, getting dressed, bathing and so on, as well as whether you have problems standing for a long time, getting up out of a chair and if you’re unsteady on your feet.
It’s important that you’re as honest as possible and that you provide as much detail as you can so that an accurate assessment of your needs can be made.
You can have a friend or relative with you during your assessment, which can be particularly beneficial if you don’t feel confident about explaining your current circumstances.
Typically, you will be expected to pay towards the cost of social care. However, if your needs assessment does determine that you need help, a financial assessment will then be arranged to see what funding you’ll be able to receive from the council.
Financial assessment
A financial assessment (also referred to as a means test) involves the council working out what, if anything, they’ll pay towards your care. Essentially, the more money you have in savings, the more you’ll be expected to put towards care costs.
A financial assessment officer will get in touch to ask you questions relating to your pensions, earnings, benefits, savings and property (including anything overseas).
Note that if the council believes you may have reduced your wealth deliberately, this could prevent you from gaining access to any kind of financial aid.
If you need a live-in carer or someone to visit you at home, or if you move into a care home for a short period of time, the value of your property won’t be accounted for in this assessment.
However, if you have to pay for a care home over the long term, property values will be included, unless the person/people living in it are:
– Your partner
– A child under the age of 16
– A close relative over 60, or under 60 with a disability
If you’re finding the care funding landscape difficult to navigate and aren’t quite sure where to turn, get in touch with the Concept Care team today to see how we can help.
