How your contribution is worked out ?
Income
All your income including most of the pensions and benefits you receive will be taken into account but you are entitled to retain a Personal Expenses Allowance _ a sum which the government reviews each year. Your Social Worker will tell you about this and can also explain how other benefits you receive would be affected.
If you have an income from a private or occupational pension or retirement annuity contract, even if your savings and capital are below the £23,250 level you will be expected to pay the care home fee from this income. However, the Council will ignore up to half this pension or annuity if you are using it to support your wife, husband (and possibly at their discretion, a partner).
Capital
Capital is any property, savings and investments, cash, premium bonds, stocks and shares that you have. If you have joint savings or capital assets with your husband, wife, partner or another person, then a proportion will be taken into consideration.
Property, including your home, will be valued at its current market value less any outstanding mortgage. The Council is required to ignore the value of property if:
* Your husband, wife or partner is living there
* Another close relative lives there who is over 60 or has a disability or is aged under 16 and is dependent on you. The Government has ruled that the value of a person’s home will not be counted for the first 12 weeks following admission to a care home. On this basis your local Council will ignore the value of your home for 12 weeks from the time when your placement is made permanent when working out whether you qualify for support with funding. This scheme is called a property disregard.
In certain very limited circumstances the Council has the discretion to agree to defer part of the payment towards the cost of the placement. This is referred to as deferred payment.
Your social worker will advise you whether either of these schemes might apply to you.
The Government requires you to contribute a proportion of your savings between £14,250 and £23,250 towards the cost of your placement but savings below this are not taken into consideration.