Costs of Adult Social Care and Support

Many people do not fully appreciate that adult social care is a means-tested benefit and that over 50% of those requiring care and support will need to part or fully fund it themselves. 

The amount you have to pay towards the cost of your care and support depends on:

• The type of care and support you need, as identified in your Adult Social Care Assessment, and
• Your personal finances, including your income, capital and any allowances that can be made.

The same rules are applied to everyone to make sure resources are allocated fairly.

Some care and support services remain free, such as reablement and advice and information.  However, there are now charges for most services provided by Adult Social Care, as outlined in the Schedule of Fees and Charges (PDF, 56Kb).

What is a financial assessment?

For services arranged through Adult Social Care, we carry out a financial assessment to work out how much you can afford to contribute towards the cost of your care and support.  This looks at your income (including pensions, benefits, annuities, wages, rent from properties and land, etc.), and your capital, such as savings, stocks and shares and property.

• If you have more than £23,250 in savings or investments then you will have to pay the full cost of your care.  This threshold is determined nationally.
• We will not count the value of your home while you are living in it.  However, if you own a property that you do not live in, then we will count the value of this as savings.  We also do not count the value of your home if you are going into residential care temporarily and will return to your home after an agreed time or if a member of your family, spouse or dependent is still living in the home.  However, if you are going into residential care permanently we will look at how much your property is worth when we assess how much you can afford to pay.

If you would rather not tell us about your financial circumstances then you do not have to.  However, if you decide to do this you will be responsible for the full cost of your care and support.  In this situation we strongly recommend that you seek specialist information and advice before you make any commitments (see below).

Further details can be found in the factsheets listed on the right.

What is your personal budget?

Your personal budget is the actual amount of money allocated by Adult Social Care to pay for services to meet your social care needs identified in your Adult Social Care Assessment.  You can use your personal budget to buy your own support independently, using money provided by Adult Social Care as a direct payment, or you can ask Adult Social Care to arrange services on your behalf.