Who pays for the cost of care?

Finding out whether the local authority will pay for some or all of the costs of care is a two-stage process:

• Care needs assessment. This will identify the nature and level of support required.
• Financial assessment. This is a means test to review the finances of someone requiring care.

You are entitled to have a care needs assessment no matter how much income or savings you have, and it doesn't matter how complex or simple your needs are. If you care for someone, you are also entitled to a carer's assessment. To arrange an assessment you should contact your local council.

If the financial assessment finds that someone’s income, including savings and investments, is above a certain limit they’ll be responsible for paying the costs of their care. This limit is known as the upper threshold. If the individual’s capital is below the upper threshold then the local authority will pay towards their care. Once their savings are below the lower threshold, the individual will only have to pay using their income towards their care and not from their savings.

These are the thresholds for the tax year 2020/21:.

* This is the upper threshold for nursing home care. A lower threshold of £24,000 applies for care in the home.