Care and support

How much do I have to contribute to the fees?

ACS will expect you to claim pension credit or income support if you are entitled to it. Most of the income you have, including most of your pension credit, has to be paid towards the fees of the home, less £21.15 for personal expenses. ACS will then make up any shortfall up to their normal limits (see above).

Example

Mrs Smith has been offered a place in a care home whose weekly fees are £390. She has been assessed as needing care at the elderly higher needs level. She receives a retirement pension of £90.70 and pension credit (guarantee credit, not savings credit) of £33.35. How much will ACS contribute towards the fees?

Mrs Smith's income £124.05
Minus personal expenses £21.15
Difference£ 102.90

Mrs Smith will be expected to pay £102.90 towards her fees. The balance of £287.10 will be paid by ACS to the home.

What income will they ignore?

As well as the personal allowance of £21.15, you can keep any disability living allowance mobility component and some savings credit (part of pension credit) you may be receiving. Otherwise the following rules apply (N.B. this is not an exhaustive list):

Income counted in full includes:

• assumed income from capital over £13,500 (but not the actual interest). For those that have capital between £13,500 and £22,250 ACS assume you have an income of £1 for each £250 of savings, or part of £250. For example, if you have £15,450 in savings, they assume an income of £8 a week, but if you have £15,550 in savings, they assume an income of £9 a week.
• most social security benefits including income support and pension credit but not:
  
• up to £5.45 for single people who are in receipt of savings credit OR
• the first £5.45 of income for single people who have too much income or capital to receive savings credit
• up to £8.15 for couples who are in receipt of savings credit OR
• the first £8.15 of income for couples who have too much income or capital to receive savings credit
• any amount paid for a temporary resident’s housing costs in income support or pension credit
• child tax credit
• social fund payments including any winter fuel payment
• mobility part of disability living allowance

Income partially counted or fully disregarded includes:

• War pensions (£10 disregarded)
• 50% of an occupational pension, personal pension or retirement annuity, if at least 50% is being given to a spouse or civil partner who doesn’t live in the same home..
• payments of income from voluntary and charitable sources (fully disregarded)
• income derived from personal injury trust funds/annuities (fully disregarded)

What happens if I do not claim any benefits?

If you do not claim all the benefits you are entitled to, you may lose out. When Adult Care Services assess the contributions you have to make, they will assume that you have claimed and are getting all the benefits that you are entitled to. You may therefore be paying too much toward the cost of your care if you don’t claim any pension credit due to you for example.

Can I get help with the cost of nursing care in a nursing home?

A new National Framework for Continuing NHS Healthcare and NHS Funded Nursing Care was introduced on 1st October 2007. If you entered a care home on or after this date from hospital, or because you need nursing care, you should be assessed under the new rules. A new multi-disciplinary assessment will determine whether you need Continuing NHS Healthcare, which means you don’t have to pay for your care, or NHS Funded Nursing Care, which means that the nursing element of the care home fees will be paid by the NHS. This should be paid at a flat rate of £101 per week payable by the NHS directly to the care home for your nursing needs.

If you were a resident in a care home before this date and assessed under the old rules as needing registered nursing care at either the low band of £40 per week or medium band of £87 per week you should be transferred onto the new flat rate. Those on high band of £139 per week will remain on that band unless re-assessed and their nursing needs redefined under the new rules.

If you are living in a care home and getting nursing care and you are self-funding the whole cost of your stay, you can ask for an assessment under the new rules as you may be entitled to more help, as described above.

If ACS are paying your fees because you have deferred selling your property, the nursing contribution will not be recovered when the property is sold.

More information about NHS funded nursing care is available from age concern at www.ageconcern.org.uk/AgeConcern/fs20.asp or you can telephone them and ask for their factsheet 20 which explains the new rules and conditions in more detail. You can also ring them on 0800 00 99 66 and ask them to send you a copy.