Who will pay the cost of your care?

Unlike the NHS, social care is not free, and you may be expected to contribute towards the cost of the care you receive in your home. Most people have to pay something towards the cost of their care.

We will complete a free needs assessment to find out what type of care, advice or information you require.

A free financial assessment will follow to determine if you need to contribute to the cost of your care home.

Savings or other capital assets over £23,250

If you have savings or other capital assets over £23,250, then you would be expected to pay for the full cost of your care and support.

Capital assets could include:

• other properties you own (not including the home you live in)
• shares
• other relevant assets.

Savings or other capital assets under £23,250

If you have less than £23,250, then we will complete a financial assessment to determine how much you can afford to contribute towards the cost of your care.

How we calculate your contribution

In simple terms, the calculation is savings and assets + income – standard living costs – disability-related costs = your assessed contribution.

We calculate our financial assessment by looking at your:

• income
• savings
• capital assets
• daily living costs, including any that relate to your age or disability.

To have the financial assessment, you'll need to tell us about your finances and income. You can complete our online financial assessment form. If you are unable to fill out our online form or do not have anyone who can assist you with it, please get in touch and we can assess you over the telephone, or face-to-face.  

When we receive your form and supporting documents, we will write to tell you the outcome of your assessment.

Providing your financial information

You do not have to tell us about your finances. However, if you don't, we'll assume that you are prepared to pay the full cost of your care.

Income

We include almost all benefits such as:

• state pensions
• guaranteed credit
• income support
• employment support allowance
• occupational pensions
• disability allowance
• care and attendance allowance.

However, we do not include earnings, child tax credits or winter fuel payments as part of our calculation.

Savings

We take into account almost all types of savings, including:

• current and saving accounts
• individual savings accounts (ISAs)
• shares
• investment bonds
• National Savings.

Tariff income from savings

If you have capital between £14,250 and £23,250, we will assess you as being able to contribute £1 per week for every £250 you have above £14,250. We call this tariff income.

Example

If you have £14,550, you will be treated as having an extra £2 per week of tariff income. 

Assets

The property you own

We do not include the property you live in, but we may include other properties you own. This may affect you if, for example, you are considering moving permanently to live with relatives or into extra care housing but do not want to sell the property where you lived previously.

We may take the property value into account in your financial assessment, which is likely to make you liable for the full cost of your care.

Standard living costs

There is a fixed allowance for standard living costs within the financial assessment. It is called the minimum income guarantee and is based on rates set by the Department of Health. It considers the cost of everyday items such as:

• food
• fuel costs
• TV licence
• satellite subscriptions
• water rates
• other costs.

Age or disability-related costs

We will make allowance for the disability-related expenditure you may incur due to your age or disability if you receive one of the following disability benefits:

• Personal Independence Payments
• Disability Living Allowance
• Attendance Allowance.

We will allow you 25% of the care element of disability benefits to pay for this.

Disability-related expenditure may include items such as additional fuel costs and private domestic help. 

If the 25% allowance is not enough to cover your disability-related expenditure, you can request a reassessment. We will then assess individual items of disability-related expenditure.

Payment of disability-related expenditure to family members

In exceptional circumstances, we allow claims for disability-related expenditure relating to payments you make to your family members to assist you.

Waiver scheme

We understand that there are cases where the assessment is correct, but other circumstances may affect your ability to pay for the care you need.

We can consider a waiver for some or all of your charges for a specific period in exceptional circumstances. You can ask us to consider a waiver if you think that the financial assessment fails to take into account:

• social
• psychological
• health issues
• exceptional circumstances.

Speak to your social worker about the waiver application process.

Once we have reviewed your application, we will inform you in writing if your waiver request has been successful. We tell you about the appeal process if you disagree with the decision.

Check you are receiving the benefits you are entitled to

If you want to make sure you are receiving all the benefits you are entitled to, contact:

• Department of Work and Pensions (if you are over 60)
• Job Centre Plus (if you are under 60)
• Age UK
• Citizens Advice.

Use the benefits calculator on GOV.UK.

We can check your benefits as part of your financial assessment.

Asking us to arrange your care

If you are assessed and found to need care services, we can arrange them for you. 

Self-funding (paying the full cost of your care)

Even if you are expected to pay the full cost, we can arrange your care and support. We will charge you arrangement fees depending on the level of our involvement. 

A one-off fee of £166.10

We help you find and arrange your care. You can then enter into a private arrangement with the organisation providing you with that care or ask us to manage your care on your behalf.

An additional annual fee of £246

We will charge you an annual fee if you want us to manage your care at home. This will be charged at a weekly rate alongside your other care charges.

Arranging care services yourself

If you are self-funding or want to arrange care services yourself, we can give you a list of providers approved by the Care Quality Commission.

Learn more about buying your own care services and find independent financial advice.

Paying the calculated contribution

We aim to complete your financial assessment as quickly as possible, so you understand how much you will be expected to contribute.

When will we start charging?

We will begin charging you your assessed contribution from the first day that you receive chargeable services.

How to pay

If we have arranged your care or provided you with direct payments, we will send you monthly invoices showing your charges for the relevant period.

The invoice will show you how you can pay. Direct debit is our preferred method.

Topping up a personal budget

We will always ensure that your personal budget is sufficient to meet your eligible needs. However, you may choose to receive more expensive care than the amount given in your budget. If this is the case, you'll need to top-up the difference.

If you receive your care at home, you or a third party (such as a relative or a charity) can top up your personal budget to buy additional support or services.

Intermediate care or reablement

You might receive care as part of a package of intermediate care or reablement, aiming to help you regain your independence. Typically this might happen following a period of illness or an event that has made you less able to get by in your day to day life.

How long you receive the service depends on how effective it is in helping you to regain your independence or what we call your 'reablement potential'. This is the point at which it is it identified that you either need long term services or no longer require care. This might be after a few days or up to several weeks.

For up to six weeks, and while the short term services are actively contributing to your reablement, you will not be charged for them.

However, after six weeks, or as soon as you reach your reablement potential, if you wish to continue to use any services, you will be charged depending on the outcome of your financial assessment.

Where to get more help and advice

This information is only a brief outline of the financial assessment process if you receive care and support in your own home. Contact Oxfordshire County Council's Financial Assessment Team for more detailed guidance or specific advice.