You will need a financial assessment to see if you can get help to pay your care fees. Find out how to get one and what to expect.
Financial assessments look at your money to see how much you can afford to pay towards your care each week. If this amount if not enough, you may qualify for help to pay your care fees.
How to get a financial assessment
Financial assessments are free and can be done by post or email.
- You must have a
needs assessment that shows you should live in a care home. This is usually done by a social worker.
- The social worker will refer you for a financial assessment. Your care will start when you need it, even if you have not had a financial assessment yet.
- We will write to you asking for all the information we need and tell you if you need to pay the care home a minimum payment while you wait.
- You must send us all the information we need within three weeks. Without this information, we cannot finish your financial assessment.
When we do financial assessments we must follow rules set out by the government in the
Care Act 2014. See
how we look at your money.
Changes to your financial circumstances
If something changes you must report it straightaway. Changes in your financial circumstances usually mean changes in how much help you get to pay for your care. If you don’t tell us about any changes you could be overpaid and you will have to pay it back.
What you'll need
We may ask for:
- recent benefit award letters from the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) or recent bank statements showing that you get benefit payments
- letters from your pension or annuity providers, including any pension drawdown arrangements you have made
- a complete set of the last 12 months of bank or building society statements or pass books, for every account you hold (though we may later ask for older statements too)
- details of any shares, bonds, ISAs and
national savings products
- details of any property or land you own
- details of any other income and investments
You cannot get help to pay if you do not give us all the financial information we ask for.
Someone to help
You can get someone to help with your financial assessment or have them manage it for you.
Help from a relative, friend or solicitor
Help communicating (from an advocate)
You may also be able to get your own independent advocate to help you communicate with the financial assessment team and make sure your views and rights are represented. Find out
what an advocate is and how they help.
If you cannot make decisions (lack mental capacity)
If a person has lost
mental capacity External link we cannot do a financial assessment for them unless there is someone who has the legal right to manage their money and represent them.
Find out
how to represent someone.
If nobody can represent them
If they do not have someone to represent them, as a last resort we (the council) can apply for the legal right to manage how they pay for care. Or, if they have a lot of assets, we can ask a solicitor if they will manage their finances.
Financial advice
We recommend you get financial advice to manage your money and pay for your care. We are not allowed to give financial advice ourselves, but there are independent organisations you can go to. Some are free and some cost money.
Appeal a decision
If you disagree with our decision on your financial assessment, you can ask for a reconsideration. Find out
how to appeal.
