Your contribution towards the cost of living in a residential or nursing home is worked out using The Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations.
The amount you pay will take into account your pensions and welfare benefits. If you receive basic Pension Credit or Employment and Support Allowance you will normally pay the following minimum amount per week:
| Your age | Weekly contribution |
|---|---|
| Working age | £128.90 |
| Retirement Age | £188.00 |
Private pensions
If you have a private pension or other income you may have to pay more than this. You are entitled to give half of your private pension to your partner unless you both live in the same residential or nursing home.
Personal allowance
You will keep a personal allowance of £24.90 to spend as you wish. If you are over 65 you may be entitled to an increased allowance. Anyone with savings over £23,250 will pay the full cost of their residential or nursing home placement.
Your property
The value of your property will be taken into account but can be disregarded in certain circumstances, for example, if your partner continues to live there. Where the value is taken into account it will be disregarded for the first 12 weeks of entering your permanent care home but you will pay a contribution based on your income and savings.
If you have transferred your property or capital assets before moving into a residential or nursing home in order to reduce your accommodation charge, we may decide to treat you as still possessing that asset.
Deferred payments
If you do not wish to sell your property straight away the Deferred Payment Scheme allows you to defer payment of part of the cost of your care until you sell your property or move out of residential care. You can decide to rent or lease your property and add the income you receive to the amount you contribute from your pensions and other income.
More information can be found in the documents below:
Third-party top-up
We are only able to pay up to a certain limit towards the cost for your residential or nursing home each week. If you choose a home which charges more than this limit someone else must pay the extra. This is known as a 'third party top-up' and must come from a third party, for example, family members, charities or friends.
A third party top-up is normally paid directly to the home in addition to any contribution from income and assets.