Factsheet: Financial assessments for care and support not in a care home

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Summary

April 2025 (FS7)

This factsheet explains how we will do a financial assessment if you are receiving care outside of a care home.

The figures in this factsheet were given to us by the government and are correct at the date of publication.

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Introduction

Your Care Act needs assessment determines the level of support you need. Once this is completed, and support is chosen and arranged, you are informed of the total cost of your care and support. This is known as your 'personal budget'.

You will also have a financial assessment to work out how much you will need to pay towards your care and support. The amount you pay is called your ‘client contribution’. This applies from the date you first start getting care and support from us.

If you have more than £23,250 in capital, outside the home you live in, you will need to pay the full cost of your care.

We try to arrange your financial assessment as soon as possible so that costs are not backdated for a long time. There are different ways that we do financial assessments, depending on your circumstances.

We may use information from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
We may ask you to use our online financial calculator to do your assessment online.
We may contact you to discuss another way to do your financial assessment.

You will not have to pay for your care if you’re having ‘aftercare services’ provided under Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983.

What is included in a financial assessment?

A financial assessment will look at:

your income
your capital (but not the value of the property you live in)
housing costs
expenses, including costs you incur due to a disability or condition
allowances
benefits
savings

Your financial assessment will tell you the amount you will need to pay each week, based on the information provided. This is your 'client contribution'. We will not ask you to pay more than this.

This means that if your health gets worse and you need more support, you will not pay more than your client contribution, unless:

your finances have changed, or
you need to move into a care home

We work out your contribution in line with our East Sussex County Council (ESCC) Charging for Care and Support Policy. The policy has been written in line with the Care and Support Statutory (CASS) Guidance issued under Care Act 2014 and The Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014.

If you don’t agree with the outcome of your financial assessment, you can appeal. You will be given more information about this after your financial assessment.

Information you will need to provide

Before your financial assessment, you need to have your supporting documents ready. Some examples are:

pensions or benefits you get from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
statements or notification of any private pension or annuity income
bank statements for all your accounts
housing costs such as rent, mortgage and Council Tax
Premium Bonds
National Savings certificates or books
share certificates
information about any capital or property you previously owned
investments and insurance plans

If you own your home, we do not include its value while you are living in it. If you own land or a property that you do not live in, we'll include the value of this as capital in the financial assessment.

If you do not provide all the information we have requested during the financial assessment, we may not be able to complete it. You'll need to send this information to the Finance and Benefits Assessment team. This may mean you have to pay the full cost of your care and support from the start date until you can provide all the information we need.

If you don’t want to tell us about your finances

If you would prefer not to tell us about your financial circumstances, you do not have to complete a financial assessment. You will have to pay the full cost of your care and support from the date your care started.

If you later decide you would like to tell us about your finances, contact the Finance and Benefits Assessment team:

Phone: 01323 464 699

We will arrange a new financial assessment. Your new contribution will start after the financial assessment is completed.

What is capital?

We use the term ‘capital’ to describe financial assets. These include:

the value of your savings, current accounts and investments
cash
buildings, property other than the home you live in, or land
Premium Bonds
stocks and shares
any investments or trust funds that you have
capital held in investment bonds

You must tell us about all your capital assets, including savings and investments, shares, insurance plans and property ownership. We look at the total amount you have and capital.

If you have more than £23,250 of capital and assets, you are assessed as someone who needs to pay the full cost of your care.

If you have between £14,250 and £23,250, we apply a ‘tariff income’. This means that for each £250 (or part of £250) that you have above £14,250 we include an income of £1 a week. This isn’t to represent actual interest earned, but represents a reasonable amount you can contribute from your capital.

How we work out your income

We look at your bank statements, benefit award letters and any other documentation to evidence your income. We also check the benefits and pensions you receive from the Department for Work and Pensions in case you may be entitled to higher rates.

If you are working, we do not take your salary or wages into account.

Government rules set how much of your income we cannot include. This sum is called your Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG). Having a set amount protected within the financial assessment makes sure you are still able to pay for your food, electricity, gas, water, household insurance, plus other day-to-day items. Your MIG amount depends on your age, the level of benefits you receive and sometimes on the age of your partner.

If you have an occupational pension or retirement annuities, you can give half of this to a spouse or civil partner who you do not live with. This will not be included in the financial assessment.

Which benefits do we include as income?

We include most state benefits as income. We do not include:

the mobility elements of the Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
war pension (for former armed service)

The financial assessment could identify benefits that you’re entitled to. We will advise you how to apply for these.

If you are given other benefits after your financial assessment, you must let us know so we can review your financial assessment. We will tell you if it affects what you pay towards your care.

If you pay rent on your home or have a mortgage

We take into account rent, housing benefit and mortgage payments you are responsible for.

Any rent which covers food or bills is not included as this is allowed for in your Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG). We explain what allowances can be made at the beginning of the assessment.

There is a standard allowance for people with a disability who get:

Attendance Allowance (AA)
the care component of the Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
the daily living element of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

You will get an allowance of £33.46 per week if you get the higher rate of these benefits.

You will get an allowance of £20.34 per week if you get:

the lower rate of AA
the low or middle rate of DLA Care
the standard payment for PIP

Applying a flat rate to everyone means we do not have to ask personal questions about your disability or ask you to show us receipts.

If you think your disability-related expenses are more than £20.34 or £33.46 a week, ask for a review. We will consider if a higher allowance can be applied. This is called a DRE assessment. We will need:

more detail about the expenses
receipts and invoices backdating at least 3 months

Our DRE form explains this in more detail. If you would like a DRE assessment, please ask us for a copy of the DRE form or ask the financial assessment team during the assessment.

How couples are treated

We may only need the financial details of the person who receives care and support from us. If you live with a partner or someone else who also receives care and support, we assess them separately.

It is helpful for us to know the total income and capital for your household when we work out a charge you can afford to pay. This ensures we can make allowances for your partner.

You may receive income from a benefit such as Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit that your partner claims, so we need details of any income paid to you as a couple. We include half of any joint income in the financial assessment.

If you are financially responsible for children

We need to see evidence of any income received if you are responsible for a child.

Yearly changes

Each year, we review your financial assessment in line with yearly increases to benefits awarded by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG). After the review we will write to you about any changes to the amount you have to pay.

Changes to your financial situation

If your circumstances have changed since your last financial assessment, or you are unsure if we are aware of a previous change in your circumstances, you must let us know. You must also tell us if your situation changes in the future.

We need to know about changes to your:

income
capital
household or the ownership or occupation of any property you own
outgoings such as housing costs, Council Tax, rent or mortgage
housing benefit
expenses you may have because of your disability needs

Any changes may affect the amount you have to pay towards your care and support. If you delay telling us about a change and pay an incorrect contribution for your care, any increased charges may be backdated.

Other care you would need to pay for

Charges in day services

There are fixed charges for meals at day services and for transport to and from your home. These charges are on top of the contribution you pay to attend the day service.

Meals in the community

Having meals delivered at home is a chargeable service, and a financial assessment will be needed to check your eligibility. If you are assessed as needing to pay a contribution, we will invoice you for this service. You will also need to pay for the cost of the meal itself. The provider you have chosen will invoice you for the cost of the meals.

It is your responsibility to pay your client contribution and charges for day services, meals and transport. East Sussex County Council operates a procedure when payments are not made, which can result in legal action being taken.

Moving into extra care housing or supported accommodation

If you own your own home and decide to move into a rented extra care housing scheme or supported accommodation, we will consider the value of your property in your financial assessment.

Usually, people sell their home when they move into a rented extra care scheme or supported accommodation. If you don’t have any other way to pay for your care before your home has sold, East Sussex County Council may be able to loan you the funds. This is called a Deferred Payment Agreement (DPA).

A Deferred Payment Agreement is a formal loan agreement between you and East Sussex County Council. There are nationally agreed criteria which set out the rules on how we loan people the funds to pay for their care.

We will need to enter into a legal agreement and a legal charge will be placed on your property.

East Sussex County Council applies interest to the loan which is calculated as compound interest. You'll also need to pay administration and charges.

There is more detailed information about the Deferred Payment Agreement scheme in our factsheet:

Going into residential or nursing care when you own a property

How to pay your client contribution

You need to pay your client contribution at least every four weeks. The best way to pay is by Direct Debit.

We aim to send invoices every 4 weeks. The invoices show the total due for the period the invoice relates to. This will usually be four lots of your weekly contribution.

Your personal budget (the total cost of your care and support) is a yearly amount, so it is important that you pay your 4-weekly contribution towards this.

Over the year, your care costs may be lower if:

your care needs reduce
you have an extended stay in hospital or respite care away from your home
you are absent from home for any other reason
you receive less care than expected
you have paid your full contribution for the year and the actual cost of your care is lower than the amount you have paid (for any of the reasons above)

If your contribution is more than the actual cost of your care, the difference will be credited to your account. If your care costs more than your contribution, you will not be charged extra.

Technology Enabled Care services (TECS) services such as Lifeline are invoiced four times per year instead of every four weeks.

There is more information about how you can pay your contribution in our factsheet 'How to pay your contribution to your care and support'.

More information

See more leaflets and factsheets.

Email: Health and Social Care Connect
Phone: 0345 60 80 191
Minicom : 18001 0345 60 80 191

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