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Paying for care in your home

Find out what it can cost to pay for care in your home, and whether you might be eligible for help to pay.

Get a financial assessment

Complete a financial assessment to find out what you'll pay for care.

How it works

After your care needs assessment, we will ask you to complete a financial assessment (means test) to work out how much you can afford to pay towards your care in your home.

The amount you will have to pay depends on the type of care and support you need and the income, savings and investments that you have.

Complete the financial assessment form

Find out more about completing the financial assessment (means test) and what you’ll need to provide.

If we’ve asked you to do the financial assessment, you’ll need to return your completed assessment within 14 days or you will be charged for the full cost of your care.

What we’ll ask you about

For care at home, the financial assessment will look at your:

  • capital, meaning all of your savings and investments
  • income, including pensions and benefits
  • household outgoings such as utility bills
  • extra costs due to a disability

How your care costs are calculated

Most people will need to pay at least something towards their care.

Income

All of your income, including pensions and benefits, will be considered as part of the assessment. You will most likely need to pay at least something from your income towards the costs of your care.

Capital

If you have capital (the total value of your savings and investments) above £14,250, we will assess every £250 over this amount. 

Every £250 (or part of £250) above £14,250 is looked at as an extra £1 per week of income. 

So, if you have capital of £4,000 above the lower capital limit of £14,250, we'll take into account £16 a week as income.

Full details of how we work out costs in a financial assessment are explained in our Charging Policy (PDF, 404KB).

Getting help to pay for your care

You might be eligible for the council to pay towards the cost of your care, depending on what care you need and how much money you have.

Your financial assessment will work out how much, if anything, the council will contribute to the cost of your care.

If you have capital (total value of your savings and investments) of:

  • less than £14,250 - you may be eligible for help to pay for your care, and you will be left with at least this amount of savings if you have it
  • between £14,250 and £23,250 - you may still qualify for help to pay, but we will include this amount in our calculations of what you should pay
  • more than £23,250 - you will need to pay the full cost for your care (called self-funding) until your capital falls below £23,250

Savings and investments (capital)

We look at your savings and investments, including:

  • bank or building society accounts
  • property (other than your main home)
  • land
  • national savings certificates
  • premium bonds
  • stocks and shares

Property

The value of the home that you own and live in will not be included in your financial assessment as part of your capital.

If you own a second home, we will include the value of it as part of your capital.

Income

What we count 

We will take into account any pensions and benefits you receive, such as:

  • Income support
  • Pension credits
  • State retirement pension
  • occupational or private pension
  • Employment & Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Severe Disablement Allowance
  • Armed Forces Independence Payment
  • Disability Living Allowance (DLA) care component
  • Attendance Allowance
  • Personal Independence Payment (PIP) daily living component
  • Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
  • Universal Credit

What we may ignore

The financial assessment might completely or partly ignore things like:

  • charitable or voluntary payments
  • War Disability Pension
  • War Widows Pension
  • War Widows Supplementary Pension
  • Working Tax Credit
  • Disability Living Allowance (DLA) mobility component
  • Personal Independence Payment (PIP) mobility component
  • Pension Credit (savings credit)
  • Guaranteed Income Payments under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme
  • savings or earnings below a certain level as decided by the government 

Disability-related expenditure

If your income is made up of a disability related benefit (Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, or attendance allowance), you may be able to claim for extra expenditure that results from your disability or infirmity.

You can tell us about disability-related costs in your assessment, such as: 

  • extra heating
  • community alarm system
  • extra laundry costs
  • special clothing
  • special dietary requirements
  • disability-related equipment
  • transport costs

You’ll need copies of invoices and receipts for these items.

For more information about disability-related expenditure, download: 

Check your benefit entitlement

You can find out if you’re eligible for any benefits using the benefits calculator on GOV.UK, or speak to Citizens Advice Kingston.

Money to cover everyday costs

When we calculate how much you will pay towards your care, we make sure that you’re left with enough money to cover everyday expenses. This is called the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG). It’s an amount set aside to cover your everyday expenses when we calculate what you can afford to pay towards your care each week. 

The government sets this amount every year, and it varies depending on your age and the benefits you’re getting.

Contact us

Email

asc.financeenquiries@kingston.gov.uk

Phone

020 8547 4778

Address

Adult Social Care Finance Team
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Guildhall 2
Kingston
KT1 1EU

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