Care Funding Support

State Funding For Care

The government and local authorities provide financial assistance, and other forms of support to the elderly, sick and disabled who need help with personal care.

Support For Social Services And "Direct Payments"

Your local social services can organize and pay for, or contribute to the cost of any care you may need. This does not cover home nursing which should be the responsibility of the NHS.

If you want social services to fund your care, you will need to have a means test. This means that they will ask you questions about your weekly income, including pensions, earnings, pension credits, allowances and benefits as well as all your savings and investments.

For home care (as opposed to residential care), the value of your home is not taken into account and they will generally ignore any savings or investments you may have if they are below certain limits.
The council will then determine how much you may have to pay for the care costs.

Support For Social Services And "Direct Payments"

NHS Continuing Care

Nursing and health care needs are entitled to be paid "in any setting" - including at your home - if, after a short clinical assessment, your local health authority agrees that your health care needs meet their funding criteria. However, this can sometimes be a grey area and often borders on social assistance which is normally funded by the local authority.

The value of continuing care can exceed £1000 per week if you have high needs. You do not receive the money directly, the NHS spends it on your behalf in accordance with the needs and goals set out in a care needs assessment.

The health authorities are obliged to take into account the wishes of the patient. If, for example, you want a live-in nurse to provide you with the care you need at home, you should make this clear as soon as possible when reviewing your care needs.

If your partner is your primary caregiver, he or she may need a break from time to time.

Continuing care funding can help pay for professional respite services eg. A visiting nurse for an afternoon or sometimes a home nurse for a week.

The criteria for funding continuing care may vary depending on where you live; but to be eligible you must usually have a serious or fatal illness.

There are several types of “continuing care”. You may be eligible for assistance for more than one. For example, your health authority and local council may use different programs to coordinate and jointly fund a package of care that meets both your health and social care needs.

As a guide, “eligible” health needs may include (but are not limited to):

Complex medical conditions that require additional care and support
Long term medical conditions
Physical or mental disabilities
Terminal illnesses
Health that deteriorates rapidly
Mobility problems

State Benefits

Attendance Allowance

Carer’s Allowance

Care allowance is a taxable benefit for people such as friends and family who care for a person receiving care allowance or disability living allowance. Additional expenses may be claimed for paying a third party to provide care while you are away.

Pension And Savings Credit

The pension credit is an income-related benefit made up of 2 parts - the guarantee credit and the savings credit.

Guarantee credit supplements your weekly income if it is less than £145.40 (single people) or £222.05 (couples).

The savings loan is an additional payment for people who have saved money for retirement, eg. a pension.

You pay no tax on the pension credit.

Disability Living Allowance/Personal Independence Payments

As of April 8, 2013, the disability living allowance has been replaced by a new assessment-based benefit called Personal Independence Payments (PIP). This is a new advantage for people who need help in everyday life or who have reduced mobility.

This applies to people aged 16 to 64. If you are over 65, you can continue to claim care allowance.

Depending on your score on the assessment, you will receive a payment ranging from £21 to £143.40 per week. If you are currently receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA), you will be required to attend an assessment within the next two years. In some cases, PIP may pay more than DLA and it may be in your best interest to request an early assessment.

Independent Living Fund

The complementary fund which works in collaboration with the social services. The independent living fund (ILF) provides grants to people with disabilities with high support needs who wish to live independently. ILF does not take into account your income and that of your partner so that you can earn without losing any funding.

Equity Release

The equity release is a competitive lending option, a way to unlock tax free money from your home .the most popular form of equity release is a lifetime mortgage.

There are equity release plans to meet a wide variety of needs, making lifetime mortgages a competitive lending option for homeowners aged 55 and over.

Some of the existing plans may include features such as:

Lump sum and withdrawal facilities you can choose to take the money as a lump sum at the start of the plan or as a down payment followed by smaller amounts as you need them, called sampling plan. You will only pay interest on the money you release, not on the full facility available
Repayment options - ad hoc voluntary payments or monthly interest payments to reduce interest impact (subject to lender criteria)
Inheritance protection - reserving a percentage of your home's future value for inheritance

On top of that, the industry body, the equity release council, has set clear guidelines for suppliers and put in place guarantees that guarantee non-negative fairness, where you will never owe more than the value of your house.

If you have any questions about financing your care, please speak to our team today. We look forward to hearing from you. Call HW Homecare on 01424 237000.

The attendance allowance is a tax-free benefit for people over 65 who need help with personal care, such as getting up, bathing, eating, taking medicine or moving around, or because they can become confused and should be monitored. Care allowance is not affected by savings and is usually not affected by any other income you may have.