Paying for residential or nursing care

• What are the fees for and why do they seem so expensive?
• How much help will you get if you make your own arrangements?
• Why should you contact us? 
• Rules about capital
• What are the rules for paying for nursing care?
• What happens if you own your home?
• Short stay or respite care
• Permanent stays
• How will moving affect your welfare benefits?
• How will moving affect your spouse’s benefits?
• What services are you paying for?
• What happens if you choose a more expensive home?
• How will you pay the fees?
• Useful contacts

Moving into a residential or nursing home is a big move and not one to be taken lightly. If you are moving permanently, you may have to pay for your stay in the home for many years.

Many people will need some help paying for residential or nursing care - you should contact us before any move.

What are the fees for and why do they seem so expensive?

A care home’s fees cover three main areas:

• There are care costs - personal care (such as helping people bathe) and basic health care
• There are basic housing costs such as rent, utilities (gas, electricity and water)
• The cost of wear and tear to furniture and fittings and making sure that the building is accessible
• There are living costs such as food, television and social activities

Fees for nursing homes are usually higher because they include the cost of nursing care. The NHS pays for the nursing part of the fees, once it has agreed that you need this care.

Back to top

How much help will you get if you make your own arrangements?

If you decide to make your own arrangements, without a social care assessment, then we will not be able to help you financially and you will have to pay all the care home’s fees.

If it is a nursing home and a health professional agrees that you need nursing care, the NHS should pay for the costs of that nursing care. You will have to pay the remainder of the home’s fees.

If you are thinking of making your own arrangements, you should talk to an independent financial adviser, to see if this is the best option for you. You can also contact:

• Welfare Rights Advice Line
• Citizens Advice Bureau
• Age UK
• A solicitor or accountant

You may also want to read 'paying for long term care' at the bottom of this page.

Back to top

If you do not want to talk to us, then you should think about talking to other organisations to help you make the best decision. You will find a list of useful organisations at the bottom of our choosing a home page.

Back to top

Rules about capital

• If you have £26,750 capital or more, then we would prefer you to agree a contract with the care home and pay the home directly
• If you have more than £23,250 capital, you will need to pay all the residential or nursing home fees yourself (except the cost of any nursing care that you need). We can arrange the contract and pay the home for you, if you have between £23,250 and £26,750 capital, but you will need to pay us back the full amount, until your capital falls below £23,250
• If your capital increases to over £26,500 while you are living in care home (perhaps because you have sold your home), then we may ask you to take on the contract with the care home
• If you have less than £23,250 capital, we will usually help with the costs of the home. The amount that we will help with is based on your income and your tariff income (income based on your capital)
• We work out your tariff income based on £1 income for every £250 capital you have between £14,250 and £23,250
• If your capital is less than £14,250 we will ignore it. This is yours to keep

Regardless of your capital, if you cannot understand the contract or arrange the payments of the fees and you have no relatives or friends who can help, then we will organise the contract with the home.

Once we know your tariff income, we add it to your actual income from benefits and pensions. Of that total income, you keep your ‘personal allowance’ and use the rest to pay for your residential care.

We will make up the difference between the cost of the care and the amount you pay.

Your personal allowance should be at least £22.60 a week. This is money to spend as you want, for example on toiletries and stamps.

If you are getting less than this amount, you need to let us know.

Back to top

What are the rules for paying for nursing care?

If you are moving to a nursing home and you require nursing care, the NHS will pay for the nursing care part of the fees charged by the home. A nurse will assess (work out) what level of nursing care you need, in order to decide how much the NHS will pay.

If you give your capital away and one of the reasons you did this was to avoid paying for the residential or nursing home, you may still have to pay for the home as if you had the capital.

If you have more questions about having a contract with a care home, you should speak to a finance officer or social worker for more advice.

Back to top

What happens if you own your home?

If we are paying for your care, we will usually expect you to repay us when you sell your home. You will need to sign a contract with us called a deferred charges agreement. This is your promise that you will pay us back once your home has been sold. The deferred charges agreement costs £350 which we will claim back once your home has been sold. You may want to talk to an independent advisor before signing the contract.

If your spouse or partner (of any age), or another relative who is over 60 or who is ‘incapacitated’ is still living in your home, then we will not count it as capital and you will not need to sell it, until the home becomes available to be sold. You must tell us if this happens.

Back to top

Short stay or respite care

If you are moving to a residential or nursing home for a short while, there is a standard weekly charge, depending on your age.

• If you are aged between 18 and 24 years old, there is a set charge of £59.70
• If you are aged between 25 and 60 years old, there is a set charge of £73.75
• If you are aged over 60 years old, there is a set charge of £114.75

If you stay longer than six weeks, we will assess your finances and your charges could change.

Back to top

Permanent stays

Before moving to a home, you need to fill in a financial assessment form, telling us about your assets, other capital, income and benefits. When you first move, your weekly charge will be the standard weekly charge plus any:

• Attendance Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance (middle and high rate)
• Severe Disability Premium you are getting

After six weeks, the fee will usually change, according to the information you have given us in your financial assessment.

Back to top

How will moving affect your welfare benefits?

If you are receiving welfare benefits, you should contact the Pension Service (if you are 60 years old or more) or Jobcentre Plus (if you are under 60 years old) before moving to a care home.

If you are paying the full cost of your residential/nursing placement you may still get some benefits.

As benefits are very complex, you may want to ask for more expert advice. You should contact our Welfare Rights Advice Line.

Back to top

How will moving affect your spouse's benefits

If you get any benefits as a couple, then your partner may need to claim these him or herself, once you have moved. Your partner may also be able to claim other benefits once you have moved. You should let the Pension Service or Jobcentre Plus know and they should send your partner a form to fill in. You should also contact the Welfare Rights Advice Line for further information.

Back to top

What services are you paying for?

The fees charged by the home should cover all the normal things you need. The home should not ask you for any more money, except for extra things such as your own newspaper or having your hair done. This should come from your personal allowance.

If the home asks you or your relative for more money then you should let us know.

Back to top

What happens if you choose a more expensive home?

Every year, we set maximum amounts we will pay towards the cost of residential or nursing home care.

These depend on the type of home and the type of care that you need.

If you choose a home that is more expensive than the maximum we will pay, then you will need to make up the difference from the first day that you move in. You may have a relative who can help with the extra costs, or you could contact Salford Council for Voluntary Service (CVS), which has a list of charities that may help you.

You must contact us before you move into the home and we will make a written agreement with the person or charity paying the extra money.

Back to top

How will you pay the fees?

If you are staying in a home for longer than six weeks and we are helping to pay the home’s fees, we will normally pay all the home’s fees. We will then ask you to pay your fees to us. You will receive a bill from telling you how much you owe.

After that, we will send you a bill once a year, telling you how much you owe us each calendar month. If another person or organisation is also helping to pay the fees, we will also send them a bill.

Back to top

Comments, compliments and complaints

If you want to make a comment, compliment or complaint about a service, you can tell the person providing the service, fill in the form at the back of the council’s ‘Welcoming your views’ leaflet or write to the manager of the service.

If you would like to get more involved in improving services or making life better for people in Salford, you might be interested in finding out about community committees or partnership boards.

Back to top

Useful contacts

Welfare Rights Line
Telephone: 0800 345 7375 (10.00am to 12.00pm, Monday to Friday)

Community, Health and Social Care
Telephone: 0161 909 6517
Minicom: 0161 793 2111
Email: social.services@salford.gov.uk

Age Concern Salford
Telephone: 0161 788 7300
Fax: 0161 707 2953
Email: administrator@ageconcernsalford.org.uk

Department for Work and Pensions
Telephone: 0845 606 0265

Jobcentre Plus
Telephone: 0800 055 6688

Benefits Enquiry Line (for people with a disability)
Telephone: 0800 882 200

Citizens Advice Bureau
Telephone: 0870 120 2424 (10.00am to 3.00pm)

PRT Salford Carers Centre (for carers)
Telephone: 0161 833 0217

Back to top

This page was last updated on 6 October 2011