Factsheet: Financial assessments if you have been fully funding your own care
Summary
April 2025 (FS37)
This factsheet explains what to do if you pay the full cost of your care and you want to apply for help.
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Introduction
If you want to apply for help paying for your care and you have been paying the full cost yourself (self-funding), you will need to contact us. We will complete a Care Act needs assessment and a financial assessment.
This will help us work out if you are eligible for financial help with your care and support. It also helps us work out the amount you need to pay - your ‘client contribution’.
You should continue to pay the full cost of any care you have arranged until:
- we confirm that you are eligible
- the date our financial support starts
Depending on the type of care and support you receive, it may be helpful to read these factsheets:
When to contact us for help paying for your care and support
Financial help is available for people whose capital is £23,250 or less. You must have a Care Act needs assessment and be eligible for our support. We recommend you contact us to request a financial assessment six months before your capital is likely to reach this amount.
If you have not already started the financial assessment process, our capital depletion checker will give you an idea of when you may need to ask us for financial help.
How much we pay towards your care and support
The rate East Sussex County Council usually pays may be lower than the amount the care provider would charge you. Ask your care provider if they will accept our usual rates. If they won’t, please let us know as soon as possible.
If the cost of your care is more than the amount we pay, you may have to make an extra payment to cover the rest. If you are in a care home, this extra payment is known as a ‘top-up’. It must normally be paid by someone else, such as a family member, friend or a charity.
Capital less than £23,250
We will usually be able to provide financial help from the date you contact us requesting a financial assessment (if your capital is £23,250 or below). This will depend on whether your Care Act needs assessment confirms that you qualify for help.
Capital more than £23,250
You will continue to fully fund your own care if the value of your capital and assets is over £23,250 when we complete your financial assessment. This means you will still need to pay the full cost of your care and support.
Your financial assessment
As part of the financial assessment process, you will need to provide current information about your:
- capital
- income
- care costs
- Funded Nursing Care contributions (FNC)
- transfers or gifts of capital assets including:
- what you have given
- the value or amount of money
- the date
- who you gave it to
- the reason
- property you currently own or have sold (in the UK and abroad) before or during the time you have been paying for your care
- bank statements from savings, current and joint accounts in the last 3 months
Where possible, we will calculate when we expect your capital to reach £23,250. This is known as a ‘capital depletion’ calculation.
These standard allowances are also applied to the calculation:
- Personal Expenses Allowance (PEA) for care in a care home
- Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) for care not in a care home
- Savings Credit Disregard (SCD) allowance if applicable
- housing costs, like mortgage, rent and council tax (if you pay these yourself)
Capital due to be £23,250 this financial year
The financial year starts in April. This is when the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) reviews pensions and benefits.
If your capital is currently below £23,250 but we expect it to reach £23,250 during this financial year, we will work out how much you will need to pay and the date any financial help will start. The weekly amount you will pay is called your ‘client contribution’. Once your capital is above £23,250, you will need to fully fund your care.
Capital due to be £23,250 in a future financial year
If your capital is currently below £23,250 but we expect it to go up to £23,250 after next April, you will need to fully fund your own care once it is over that threshold.
We will tell you when we predict that your capital could reach £23,250. You should only use this as a guide because your income, care fees and outgoings may change. Your capital may reach £23,250 quicker than we expect.
In the April of the year your capital will reach £23,250:
- we will ask you to provide your most recent 3 months’ of bank statements
- we will complete your financial assessment based on your most up-to-date income and care fees
We will use your financial assessment to work out how much you will need to pay. The weekly amount you will pay is called your ‘client contribution’.
Client contribution exceeds the cost of your care
If your client contribution is higher than the weekly cost of your care, you will need to pay for you care and support in full. This means you will not get financial help towards the cost of your care.
Gifts or transfers of capital assets
If you gift or transfer your assets, we may treat the value as ‘deprivation of capital’. This is when assets are moved to reduce or avoid care and support charges. We may include the value of the gift or transfer in the financial assessment as ‘notional capital’.
If your income is reduced to avoid or minimise care and support charges, this is known as ‘deprivation of income’. We may include the value of the income in the financial assessment as ‘notional income’.
Capital reaches £23,250 before we expect
If your capital goes down to £23,250 earlier than we expected, you should contact us. We will ask about gifts or transfers of capital assets. We will also need to know if you have had any large one-off expenses since your last financial assessment.
You may need to provide extra bank statements and other documents to show how your capital has reduced.
When financial help eligibility is confirmed
We will write to you to confirm the date you are eligible to receive financial help. The letter will also tell you how your client contribution has been calculated.
If your care and support assessment has already been completed by the Care Management team, they will contact you about your ongoing support. If not, they will arrange an assessment of your care and support needs.
More information
See further leaflets and factsheets
Contact us to get more copies of this factsheet, or any of the other leaflets or factsheets mentioned.
Email: Health and Social Care Connect
Phone: 0345 60 80 191
Minicom : 18001 0345 60 80 191