planning for peace of mind

Will my mother have to sell her home to pay for her care?
If your mother has capital of over £21,500 (in England, or £22,000 in Wales) she will not qualify for assistance from the Local Authority until such a time as her capital is below this amount. Any private care fees will therefore have to be met from existing capital and income.

Most savings and assets are included in the means test, but some confusion has surrounded the subject of whether or not a person’s home is included. To help clarify the situation, a person’s home is not included in the means test if:

• your father still resides in the home;
• if a relative over 60 resides in the house;
• if a disabled relative lives at the property;
• if a child under 16 lives in the property;
• she is in the first twelve weeks of needing permanent care;
• the care is being provided on a temporary basis.

The 12 week Property Disregard
As mentioned above, a persons’ property is excluded from the means test for the first twelve weeks following admission to a care home (once a permanent contract is established). This means that if their remaining capital falls inside the current threshold then the local authority should assist you with the payment of your care fees.

It is worth noting that they will in most cases only pay up to their published limits, which could leave a family with what is known as a “third-party top up”, to cover any difference in actual care fees and the local authority contribution.

The money paid out by the local authority during the first twelve weeks is not normally repayable. Deferred Payment Agreement (Government Loan Scheme)
If, after the first twelve weeks the property has not been sold, the local authority can continue to pay towards the care fees, under the “deferred payment agreement”, but this money is repayable once the property is sold.

Will her Council Tax be reduced while we sell her home?
No. Council Tax is payable on properties left unoccupied by people who have moved to receive personal care, whether in a hospital, care home or elsewhere.  Generally speaking, the residents of care homes or those whose main home is a hospital do not have to pay Council Tax.

More details about these arrangements can be found in the leaflet 'Council tax - a guide to your bill', available from the Department for Communities and your Local Government website.

Are there any State Benefits we may be entitled to?
Most state benefits are means-tested. However, Attendance Allowance is a non-means tested, tax free state benefit, payable to all individuals over the age of 65 who have needed care (defined as help with essential daily tasks, such as washing and dressing) for longer than six consecutive months.

Attendance Allowance is available at two rates, a lower rate, for those who need help during the day or the night and a higher rate, for those needing care during both the day and night. The current weekly figures (2007/8) are £43.15 lower rate and £64.50 for the higher rate. Claim forms can be obtained from larger Post Offices, Citizens Advice Bureaux, Age Concern Shops, the Benefits Agency or downloaded from the website at www.dwp.gov.uk.

Individuals needing care under the age of 65 will still qualify for an allowance, but this is paid in the form of Disability Living Allowance.What about Free Nursing Care?
Following the implementation of the Health & Social Care Act 2001, individuals assessed as needing nursing care in a nursing home, are entitled to receive an additional nursing care allowance. This is officially known as RNCC (Registered Nursing Care Contribution). This allowance is non-means tested and tax-free. However, it is different in each part of the UK.

In England this allowance is banded according to “nursing care” need.
An NHS nurse will personally assess each resident, at the time they enter their care home. Following this assessment their care needs will be defined as follows:

• Continuing Care – the NHS will continue to meet the cost of care (but to qualify for this benefit, patients must need constant 24 hour specialist/acute nursing care). The local Primary Care Trust would carry out an assessment on request.
• High – for individuals with complex or enhanced care needs. These people are entitled to receive £139 per week.
• Medium – for residents with standard nursing care needs (based on current nursing home guidelines). The weekly amount is currently £87.
• Low – for those who have low nursing care needs, this band attracts a weekly payment of £40.
• Residential Care – No allowance is currently payable for people classified as needing residential care (in a care home without nursing).
• Care at Home – No allowance is currently payable for receiving any type of care in one’s own home.

The National Health Service will meet the nursing care allowance and the money is usually paid directly to the care home. The assessment is repeated annually thereafter, and it is possible that individuals will find themselves re-banded after each assessment.

In the rest of the United Kingdom this allowance is paid to all qualifying residents at one level, although this again differs from country to country:
Country Amount (per week)
Wales £114.90
Scotland £65
Northern Ireland £100

Is there any allowance for Personal Care?
This is only available in Scotland, it replaces Attendance Allowance for those in full time formal care and is payable at £145 per week.

My Mum needs to go into care now – what can we do?
As mentioned previously, if your mother’s capital and savings and/or income push her outside the means test thresholds, she will generally be responsible for the funding of her own care fees until such a time as her money falls below the appropriate threshold.

However, with careful planning it may be possible to structure her finances in such a way that her care fees can be paid indefinitely, without worry about the money running out.

Most families wish to ensure that their relative can stay in the chosen care home for the rest of their lives as well as safeguarding as much of the existing capital as possible.

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