Financial assessment (means test) for social care
Get a financial assessment
Find out what you need to pay for social care.
When you need to do the assessment
After your care needs assessment, we will ask you to complete a financial assessment to work out how much you will pay for social care.
If you have not taken a care needs assessment yet, find out if you’re eligible for care.
What we’ll ask you about
The financial assessment will look at your:
- capital, meaning all of your savings and investments
- income, including pensions and benefits
- costs, including housing and things you pay to help with a disability
We ask about different things depending on what type of care you will get. Find out more about how we work out:
- what you’ll pay if you’re getting care in your home
- what you’ll pay if you need to move into a care home
Supporting documents
We will need proof of savings, income, and anything else we ask about in the assessment - for example, a bank statement confirming what you have in a savings account. Check what types of documents we accept as proof.
When to complete it by
If we’ve asked you to do the financial assessment, you will need to complete the assessment and send us your supporting documents within 14 days.
If you do not complete it within this time, you will be charged the full cost for any care you are receiving.
Getting help to pay for your care
You might be eligible for the council to pay towards the cost of your care, depending on what care you need and how much money you have.
Your financial assessment will work out how much, if anything, the council will contribute to the cost of your care.
If you have capital (total value of your savings and investments) of:
- less than £14,250 - you may be eligible for help to pay for your care, and you will be left with at least this amount of savings if you have it
- between £14,250 and £23,250 - you may still qualify for help to pay, but we will include this amount in our calculations of what you should pay
- more than £23,250 - you will need to pay the full cost for your care (called self-funding) until your capital falls below £23,250
When we look at the value of your home
We will only consider the value of property you own and live in as part of your capital if we’ve said that you need to move into a care home.
If you have a second home, its value is considered part of your capital.
How to prepare for the assessment
Make sure you have all the information you need before you start the assessment.
It might take some time to gather all the information you need to provide, especially if someone else is helping you. We recommend you start gathering documents as soon as we tell you that you’ll need to complete the financial assessment.
Help to complete the assessment
A friend or family member can help you with the form, as long as they have your permission and you sign the form yourself.
If you need someone to complete the assessment and sign it on your behalf, you can ask:
Declaring your financial resources
It is illegal to give away assets to avoid charges for social care.
You must tell us if you have, in the last 7 years:
- given gifts or loans of more than £500 to anyone
- owned or sold any property
- disposed of any other assets like land, shares or investments
If you do not tell us about an asset, and we find out, we will review your assessment to include that asset. This could mean that we need to make a backdated charge.
Download the assessment form
Download the financial assessment form (PDF, 648KB). You’ll need to print it off and complete it by hand.
Where to send it
Send by email
Email your completed assessment and supporting documents to asc.financialassessments@kingston.gov.uk.
Send in the post
Post your completed assessment and supporting documents to:
Adult Social Care Finance Team
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
Guildhall 2
Kingston
Getting the results
We will write to you within 2 weeks of receiving your financial assessment to let you know the result. The letter will tell you how much you will pay each week and a full breakdown of how we worked it out.
We will review the amount you pay each year.
If your financial situation changes
Contact the Adult Social Care Finance Team if your financial circumstances change in any way. We may need to complete a new financial assessment to work out what you will pay.
If you do not tell us, you may get a large backdated bill for the cost of your care when we find out.
Contact us
Address
Adult Social Care Finance Team
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Guildhall 2
Kingston
KT1 1EU
Phone
020 8547 4778