Help with care home costs

Find out what you will pay towards your care home costs and how we work it out. 

How it works

After your care needs assessment, we will ask you to complete a financial assessment (means test) to work out how much you can afford to pay towards your care home costs. 

The amount you will have to pay depends on the type of care home you need to live in and the property, income, savings and investments that you have.

Complete the financial assessment form

Find out more about completing the financial assessment (means test) and what you’ll need to provide.

If we’ve asked you to do the financial assessment, you’ll need to return your completed assessment within 14 days or you will be charged for the full cost of your care home.

What we’ll ask you about

If you’re moving into a care home, the financial assessment will look at your:

• capital, meaning all of your savings and investments
• income, including pensions and benefits
• the value of any property or land you own                

How your care costs are calculated

Most people will need to pay at least something towards their care.

Income

All of your income, including pensions and benefits, will be considered as part of the assessment. You will most likely need to pay at least something from your income towards the costs of your care.

Capital

If you have capital (the total value of your savings and investments) above £14,250, we will assess every £250 over this amount. 

Every £250 (or part of £250) above £14,250 is looked at as an extra £1 per week of income. 

So, if you have capital of £4,000 above the lower capital limit of £14,250, we'll take into account £16 a week as income.

Full details of how we work out costs in a financial assessment are explained in our Charging Policy (PDF, 193KB).

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

Savings and investments (capital)

We look at your savings and investments, including:

• bank or building society accounts
• property 
• land
• national savings certificates
• premium bonds
• stocks and shares

Income

What we count 

We will take into account any pensions and benefits you receive, including:

• Income support
• Pension credits
• State retirement pension
• occupational or private pension
• Employment & Support Allowance (ESA)
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA) care component
• Attendance Allowance 
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP) daily living component
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
• Universal Credit

What we may ignore

The financial assessment might completely or partly ignore things like:

• charitable or voluntary payments 
• War Disability Pension
• War Widows Pension
• War Widows Supplementary Pension
• Working Tax Credit
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA) mobility component 
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP) mobility component
• Pension Credit (savings credit) 
• Guaranteed Income Payments under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme
• savings or earnings below a certain level as decided by the government 

Property 

If you own a property, the value of your property is counted towards the cost of a care home placement. 

If you own the property jointly, we will count your share of the value.

If you have any additional properties, they will be included in the assessment. 

12-week disregard

When you’re moving into a care home that is organised and paid for by us, we don’t count the value of your property for the first 12 weeks. We call this the 12-week property disregard. 

You will need to pay towards your care costs from income and other capital during the 12 weeks. We do this to give you time to consider your options for funding your care. 

During the 12 week period, you might want to consider:

• selling your property
• renting it out 
• entering into a deferred payment arrangement

We strongly recommend that you seek independent financial advice before making any decisions. 

When we do not count the value of your property

If your property will continue to be the home of any of the following people after you have moved into a care home:

• your partner or spouse 
• a close relative aged over 60 
• a relative aged under 60 who is incapacitated 
• a divorced or estranged partner who is a lone parent 
• a child under 16 who is maintained by you

Someone cannot move into the property to gain the disregard for you. If this happens, we will still include its value in the assessment.

Selling your home 

If you sell your home within 12 weeks of moving to a care home, the proceeds will be counted as capital. 

If you choose not to sell your home, we can discuss other options with you, such as entering into a deferred payment arrangement.

Renting out your home

Some people choose to rent the property out to generate income. If you do this, you will be expected to use the rental income to increase the amount you pay for your care each week. 

This will mean that the weekly payments made by us are less but you reduce your overall debt. 

Temporary stay in a care home

If your stay at a care home is temporary, you will be expected to pay towards the cost but the value of your home will not be included in the assessment.

Money to cover everyday costs 

When we calculate how much you will pay towards your care, we make sure that you’re left with enough money to cover everyday expenses. This is called a personal expenses allowance. 

The government sets this amount every year. From April 2024 it is set at £30.15 per week.

Contact us

Email

asc.financeenquiries@kingston.gov.uk

Phone

020 8547 4778

Address

Adult Social Care Finance Team
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Guildhall 2
Kingston
KT1 1EU