Factsheet: Financial assessments for care and support outside a care home

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Summary

April 2026

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

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Introduction

This factsheet explains how we work out how much you will pay towards:

home care
day services
technology enabled care
direct payments
adaptations over £1000
extra care, supported accommodation and Shared Lives
community support and outreach

Your needs assessment

You have a Care Act needs assessment to find out what type of care and support you require.

We will help you plan your care and support and tell you how much it will cost. This is your ‘personal budget’.

Do I have to tell you about my finances?

You can choose not to tell us about your finances, but you will have to pay the full cost of your care.

If you change your mind later, you can contact the Finance and Benefits Assessment team on 01323 464 699. We will arrange a financial assessment.

What are the limits?

If you have more than £23,250, you’ll pay all your care costs.

If you have between £14,250 and £23,250, we add extra income. For every £250 you have over £14,250, we add £1 a week to your income. You will pay a contribution towards your care from your income.

If you have less than £14,250, you will usually pay a contribution towards your care from your income.

You do not pay for your care if you are getting ‘aftercare services’ under section 117 of the Mental Health Act.

Your financial assessment

Social care is not free. Most people pay some or all of the cost of their care.

We do a financial assessment to work out how much you will pay towards your care. We look at your money coming in, your savings, and what you spend on things like housing.

After the assessment, we will tell you how much you need to pay each week. We call this your 'contribution'.

If your health changes and you need more care, you will not have to pay more than your contribution unless:

your money situation changes, or
you move into a care home

We follow rules set by the government to do your financial assessment. These rules are fair and the same for everyone.

Information you will need to provide

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

letters about your state pension or benefits from the government
bank statements for all your accounts
information about your rent or mortgage and council tax
private pension and annuity income statements
Premium Bonds and National Savings certificates or books
share certificates
details of property or land you own
investments and insurance documents

If you do not provide all the information we ask for, we cannot complete your financial assessment. You may need to pay the full cost of your care until you can provide it.

Making sure you have enough money to live on

The law says we must leave you with enough money for everyday costs like food, bills and household items. This protected amount is called your 'Minimum Income Guarantee'.

How we look at your finances

We check:

your savings and investments
your income, like pensions and benefits
your housing costs, like rent and mortgage
extra costs you have because of a disability or health condition

Savings and investments

We will include any savings and investments you have, including:

money in bank and savings accounts
cash
Premium Bonds
shares
property you own (but not the home you live in)

We call this ‘capital’.

Your income

We include most income, including state benefits.

We do not include:

earnings from employment
mobility allowance (PIP and DLA)
war pensions (for former armed service)

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.

Your housing costs

We’ll allow for your mortgage, rent and council tax.

If your rent covers food or bills, we do not include it as this is part of your Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG). We’ll explain what allowances you can get at the beginning of the assessment.

Disability-related expenses are extra costs you pay for things like equipment or heating because of your disability.

We give you an allowance of £33.46 per week if you get the:

higher rate of Attendance Allowance (AA)
higher ‘care component’ of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
higher ‘daily living’ part of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

We give you an allowance of £20.34 per week if you get the:

lower rate of AA
low or middle rate of DLA care component
standard payment for PIP

If you think your expenses are higher than your allowance, ask for a review. This is called a DRE assessment. We will need:

more detail about the expenses
receipts and invoices backdated at least three 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 worker during your assessment.

How couples are treated

We may only need the financial details of the person getting care and support from us.

If you live with a partner or someone else who also receives care and support, we will assess them separately.

It is helpful if we know your total household income, savings and assets when we work out how much you will pay. This ensures we can make allowances for your partner.

We need details of any income paid to you as a couple, such as benefits. We include half of any joint income and joint capital in the financial assessment.

If you have children

You’ll need to show us evidence of any income received if you are responsible for a child.

Yearly changes

We will review the amount you pay each year. This is based on changes to benefits, pensions and the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG). We will write to you about any changes to the amount you have to pay.

Changes to your financial situation

You must tell us if your financial circumstances change. Please contact us immediately about any changes to:

your benefits or income
your savings or investments
your household
a property you own (such as selling or renting it)
your housing costs, like council tax, rent or mortgage
expenses you have because of your disability

Any changes may affect the amount you have to pay towards your care and support. If you delay telling us about a change, you might need to repay money.

Other care you would need to pay for

Charges in day services

When you attend a day service you will pay for:

meals
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

We charge for our delivered meals service. Your financial assessment will determine if you are eligible. If you are assessed as needing to pay a contribution, we will invoice you.

You will also need to pay for the cost of the meal itself. The provider you have chosen will invoice you directly.

How to pay your contribution

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

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

you receive less care than expected
you stay in hospital, respite, or are away from home

If you have overpaid, we will credit the money to your account.

You will not be charged extra if your care costs more than your contribution.

Technology enabled care services (TECS) such as Lifeline alarms 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'.

If you move out of your home

If you own your home, we do not include the value while you live in it. If you move out, we may include its value. For example, if you move into:

extra care housing
supported accommodation
permanent residential or nursing care

Whether we include it depends on who else lives there.

You can read about this in our factsheet Going into residential or nursing care when you own a property

If you don’t agree

If you don’t agree with the outcome of your financial assessment, you can appeal. We’ll give you information about this at the end of your financial assessment.

Example of how we work out someone’s contribution

Tom is 71 years old and disabled. He lives alone and owns his home with no mortgage. He needs home care costing £350 per week.

First, we work out how much he has in savings. We do not include his home as he is living there.

Capital
Savings	Amount
Current account	£2,000
Savings account	£13,250
Total savings	£15,250

We then look at his income. Tom has between £14,250 and £23,250 in savings. For every £250 he has over £14,250, we add £1 a week to his income. We call this ‘tariff income’.

Income
Weekly income	Amount
Tariff income (4 x £1)	£4
State pension	£241.30
Attendance Allowance	£76.70
Private pension	£30.50
Total weekly income	£352.50

We then look at certain expenses and allowances.

Everyone who is living at home can keep £241.45 for living costs. This is a Minimum Income Guarantee.

We also allow for housing costs like Council Tax and extra expenses he pays for items related to his disability.

Expenses
Weekly expenses	Amount
Minimum Income Guarantee	£241.45
Disability-related expenses	£20.34
Council Tax	£45.75
Total expenses	£307.54

Finally, we subtract his expenses from his income. This gives us the maximum amount that he will pay per week.

Weekly contribution
Contribution	Amount
Income	£352.50
Minus expenses	-£307.54
Total weekly contribution	£44.96

Tom will pay a contribution of £44.96 a week. The Council will pay the rest.

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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