See how we look at your money to decide if you get help to pay for your care and support.
In a financial assessment we work out how much you can afford to pay towards your care. This page shows how. You might also find it useful to see
examples of other people’s assessments.
How it works: ignored and counted
When we look at how much money you have, there are some things we ignore and some things we count.
Ignored: you keep it
If we ignore something we do not expect you to use it to pay for care and we will not assess it.
Counted: we assess it
If we count something it means we'll take it into account when we work out how much you can afford to pay for care.
What we look at
We’ll look at:
- all of your
capital (savings and investments)
- all of your
income (including pension and benefits)
- your
costs (including housing and things you pay for that help with your disability)
The law says you must tell us your true financial situation or you could face legal action.
If you have any personal debt like credit cards or personal loans, we cannot take them into account.
Capital (savings and investments)
We look at your savings and investments, such as:
- bank or building society accounts
- any properties that are not your main home
- land
- national savings certificates
- premium bonds
- stocks and shares
If you own the property you live in, its value will be ignored while you live in it and receive care and support there.
Ignored capital: £14,250 or less
We will ignore your savings and investments if they are £14,250 or less.
Counted capital: more than £14,250
If your capital is between £14,250 and £23,250, you may still qualify for help to pay but we'll take this money into account when we work out what you can afford.
If you have more than £23,250 in capital, you will pay for your care and support services yourself at the
standard council costs.
Income (earnings, pensions and benefits)
Any earnings, pensions and benefits you get are classed as income. Some types are ignored in your assessment, and some are counted.
Ignored income types
We will ignore things like:
- earnings
- War Disability Pension
- War Widows Pension
- Working Tax Credit
- Savings Credit (Pension Credit)
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA) mobility component
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP) mobility component
- War Widows Supplementary Pension
- Guaranteed Income Payments from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme
- Armed Forces Independence Payment for mobility
- student finance
Counted income types
We will count:
- occupational pension or private pension
- State Pension
- Guarantee Credit (Pension Credit)
- Income Support
- Employment & Support Allowance (ESA)
- Severe Disablement Allowance
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA) care component
- Attendance Allowance
- Constant Attendant Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP) daily living component
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
- Universal Credit
If you qualify for any of these benefits but choose not to claim them, we still have to include the money you would get if you did claim. It's important you claim the benefits you're entitled to. Check your eligibility using a
benefits calculator.
Costs
When we look at how much money you have, we can take off (ignore) some of your everyday living costs.
Living costs we take off are:
Cost of living allowance
You’re allowed to keep back a fixed amount to go towards food, clothing housing and bills. This is called a cost of living allowance. The size of your allowance depends on your age, situation and what benefits you get.
Single person aged 18 to 24
Cost of living allowance amounts for a single person aged 18 to 24
| Situation | Weekly amount you keep |
|---|
| No benefits | £87.65 |
| Gets disability premium or DLA (middle or low rate care) | £136.45 |
| Gets PIP (standard daily living component) | £136.45 |
| Gets DLA (high rate care) or PIP (enhanced daily living component) | £160.30 |
| Gets a carer’s premium | £140 |
| Gets a carer’s premium as well as disability premium, DLA (middle or low rate care) or PIP (standard daily living component) | £188.80 |
| Gets a carer’s premium as well as DLA (high rate care) or PIP (enhanced daily living component) | £212.65 |
Single person aged between 25 and state pension age
Cost of living allowance amounts for a single person between 25 and state pension age
| Situation | Weekly amount you keep |
|---|
| No benefits | £110.60 |
| Gets disability premium or DLA (middle or low rate care) | £159.40 |
| Gets PIP (standard daily living component) | £159.40 |
| Gets DLA (high rate care) or PIP (enhanced daily living component) | £183.25 |
| Gets a carer’s premium | £162.95 |
| Gets a carer’s premium as well as disability premium, DLA (middle or low rate care) or PIP (standard daily living component) | £211.75 |
| Gets a carer’s premium as well as DLA (high rate care) or PIP (enhanced daily living component) | £235.60 |
Single person of state pension age
Cost of living allowance amounts for a single person of state pension age
| Situation | Weekly amount you keep |
|---|
| No benefits | £228.70 |
| Gets a carer’s premium | £281.05 |
If you are responsible for children living in your home, you can keep back an extra £101.25 per child, per week.
Non liable housing cost allowance
You may qualify for a housing cost allowance, which is a fixed amount of £24.20 per week that you can keep back.
You can qualify for this if all of the following apply to you:
- you do not have your own tenancy
- you live with other adults who are not your partner
- the other adults are legally liable to pay housing costs
Disability related expenses
You might have disability related expenses (DREs) because you have to pay for items or services that you only need because of your disability or frailty.
Example
You pay for a gardener because your disability or frailty means you are no longer able to maintain your garden. And you live alone so nobody else can do it.
You can keep back a disability related expense (DRE) as long as:
- it is absolutely necessary, not something you pay for by choice
- it is not something you would pay for even if you did not have a disability or frailty
- it is not already funded in your care and support plan
- it is not already funded (or should be funded) by a government agency like the NHS
- you do not pay for it by cash in hand to help someone avoid declaring it for income tax purposes
- it is not a payment to a family member
Examples of DREs
You can tell the person who does your financial assessment about anything you think might be a DRE. We will consider any reasonable requests. There is no complete list of DREs because we look at each person's needs as an individual.
Here are some examples to give you an idea.
Household costs such as:
- cleaner
- excess household energy costs
- gardener
- excess laundry costs
Travel costs such as:
- public transport
- travel to and from respite care
- shopping
- taxis for essential journeys
Transport costs will only qualify if they cost more than any mobility benefit payments you get.
Mobility equipment costs such as:
- adaptations
- bath or shower
- powered bed
- hoist
- stair lift
- walking aid or wheelchair
- specialist equipment
- Telecare equipment monitoring costs
Personal care costs such as:
- clothing and specialist footwear
- hair washing (not cutting or styling)
- chiropodist
Checking for lower prices
If we can find these goods or services at a lower price, we’ll take into account the lower price instead of the amount you pay. Even if you have already spent the money. We will also give advice on how to find better prices.
Giving proof of your expenses
You will need to give us proof of your disability related expenses, from at least the last four weeks.
Receipts and bills must show the name and address of the person or company providing you with the services or equipment.
We may need to contact the person or company who are providing the services to you. This is to make sure they have fully declared the money you pay them in their taxes.
If you give away money or property
The law says you must not give away your money or property, or sell it for less than it is worth, if you think you're going to have care needs. If you do, it will still be counted in your assessment.
