Support for self-funders

About self-funding

If you have capital (savings and assets) worth £23,250 or over, or a weekly income high enough to pay for care home fees, you will not qualify for funding from us. Instead, you will need to pay for your own care. This is called ‘self-funding’.

You may need to pay for long-term care out of your own funds if you:

• have had a needs assessment and you do not qualify for help from us to pay for your care
• have chosen not to have a needs assessment to find out if you qualify for help
• want to enhance your level of care at home or within a care home by paying a little more
• must pay the full cost of your care but your money is tied up in property

Help for self-funders

There are some things we can do to help you when you have to self-fund your care:

Ways to self-fund your long-term care

If you have savings and assets worth £23,250 or more, or a weekly income high enough to pay for your care home fees, you will not qualify for help with your care costs. You are known as a ‘self-funder’.

As a self-funder you will need to pay for the full cost of your care. We have put together some information to help you find a way to do this.

How to defer your care costs as a property owner

If you have value in your home that means you must pay for your own residential care you could ask us for a deferred payment agreement.

This allows you to delay paying us for your care until you die or your property is sold.

Arrange your care as a self-funder

As you are self-funding your care, you have a choice about who arranges your care. You can still ask us to arrange your care for you.

Find out about your options for arranging care.

Care provided by the council

If you would like us to arrange your care, the first step is to ask us to request a needs assessment. This is so we can work with you to decide what care you need.

You can also ask us for a financial assessment to make sure you do not qualify for any help with costs.

What you’ll pay if we arrange your care

If you ask us to arrange your care for you, you will be charged an one off admin fee of £141 at the start of your care.

Fee amounts correct as of April 2023. Fees are reviewed on a yearly basis and are subject to change.

These fees cover our costs to:

• buy care and support services on your behalf
• raise invoices to recharge you and collecting payment
• manage your accounts
• arrange quality assurance checks of care providers

If you want us to stop arranging your care

You can ask us to stop arranging your care for you at any time. However as the majority of the costs are incurred when starting or ending this service, we are unable to offer a refund.

Should you decide to return to us at any time, you will be charged the full arrangement fee again.

When a relative or friend is paying your extra care home costs

If the result of your financial assessment is that you qualify for us to pay your care home fees, you will only receive funds up to a maximum set amount, known as usual cost.

Usual cost is the standard amount we would expect a care home that can meet your care needs to charge, and we must be able to show that there is at least 1 suitable care home available at this usual cost.

If you choose a care home above usual cost

Any extra costs, above usual cost, is referred to as either top-ups or additional payments.

Who pays top-ups

You must ask a relative, such as a son or daughter, or friend, to pay any costs above usual cost if you:

• choose a care home that charges more than your allowance
• decide on more expensive accommodation within a care home with usual cost accommodation

You can not pay the extra care home costs yourself unless you are entering a deferred payment agreement and:

• it has been agreed that you can add this additional cost to your agreement
• your services are provided under Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983

The reason that you cannot pay yourself is that your savings would reduce faster and you would need us to contribute more towards your care sooner than necessary.

If we are unable to find you a suitable placement at a care home within usual cost and as a result we arrange to place you in more expensive accommodation out of necessity rather than preference, you will not be asked to pay the top-up costs.

What someone making top-up payments should know

The person making the top-up payment on your behalf must understand that:

• the amount they must pay could go up if the care home reviews its charges
• your funding assistance payments will be regularly reviewed and may change - this could make a difference to the amount they must pay payment top-ups will be required for as long as you stay in that care home and this could be a number of years
• if the payment is not made, or if circumstances change for the person paying and they can no longer afford to pay, you must move to accommodation that charges no more than usual cost

How it works

Notify us of your chosen care home

If your needs assessment identifies that you need to move into a care home, we’ll discuss your options at your needs assessment appointment.

We will always aim to find you accommodation within usual cost. Please notify us if you would prefer to move into a care home that is above usual cost and you have someone willing to pay the top-up costs.

The details of the person who has agreed to pay your top-up will then be supplied to the care home so they can be invoiced for the top-up amount. Payment should be made directly to the care home. The invoice will provide details of how to pay.

Ending top-up payments

If circumstances change for the person paying your top-up costs and they can no longer afford to pay, please contact your community wellbeing worker. You should also inform the residential home where you are staying.

Your community wellbeing officer will be able to look at other options for you and may refer you for reassessment.

Last updated 13 November 2023