Financial assessment for residential or nursing care

We will assess your finances to work out how much you need to pay when you move into a residential or nursing home. We will only ask you to pay what you can afford.

• If you have less than £23,250 in savings and other capital, you may be eligible for help with care costs. You may still need to contribute.

• If you have more than £23,250, you will usually need to pay the full cost of your care.

A financial assessment officer will ask about your income, savings, regular costs and property ownership. We may ask for bank statements, bills, receipts and documents showing who owns your home.

If you act for someone else, we will also need evidence of your authority, such as power of attorney, appointeeship or a Court of Protection order.

We consider your weekly income and any tariff income from savings. We then deduct the Personal Expenses Allowance and, for some short-term placements, eligible housing costs. The amount left is your assessed contribution. You will not pay more than the cost of your care.

We may take the value of your former home into account if you move permanently into a care home. We do not take it into account in some circumstances, including when:

• your partner or civil partner continues to live there

• a qualifying relative continues to live there

• you are staying in a care home temporarily and plan to return home

If you move permanently into residential care, the value of your property may be ignored for the first 12 weeks. We will tell you if this applies to you.

A deferred payment agreement may allow you to delay paying some care costs if your property is included in the assessment. The council pays the agreed amount and you repay it later. Eligibility rules apply, and the council must be able to place a legal charge on the property.

We will send you a letter explaining your assessed charge and how we calculated it. Check the information carefully and contact us if anything is wrong.

We usually review your assessment each year. Tell us promptly if your income, savings, household, property or other financial circumstances change. You can challenge a charge if you think we made a calculation error or missed important information.