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Paying for your own care (self-funding)
Explore options for paying for your care when you do not qualify for financial help from the council.
Arrange and pay for your care
When you do not qualify for council-funded care, you will need to arrange and pay for care yourself. You can do this with your savings, investments, income, or benefits.
The cost of care
Care services and care home fees vary based on your needs and the provider. It’s important to know these costs to plan your budget.
Find out about typical hourly rates for carers at home and care home costs.
What you could get for free
You may be able to get some care for free from services, including:
- equipment to help at home or home adaptations from our occupational therapy team
- care after illness or hospital discharge (reablement)
- NHS continuing healthcare for long-term complex health needs
- NHS nursing care for nursing care in a care home
Get help to choose a care provider
If you need help finding a care provider, use Connected Kingston for information and services to help you live safely, well, and independently.
You can compare care and care home services using:
Benefits can help with care costs
You might be able to get benefits to help with care costs. Find out what benefits you can get and how to claim.
If you’re over the State Pension age
If you have an illness or a disability, you may be eligible for an Attendance Allowance or other benefit. These can help pay towards your care and are not means-tested, which means your finances will not be affected. Learn more about an Attendance Allowance or other benefits if you’re over the State Pension age.
If you’re under the State Pension age
If you’re between 16 and the State Pension age and have an illness or disability, you may be eligible for benefits. These can help pay towards your care and are not means-tested, which means your finances will not be affected. Find out more about benefits if you’re under the State Pension age.
If you’re moving into a care home
Your benefits may change. You will need to check if you can still get some benefits. Find out more about care homes and benefits at Turn2Us.org.uk.
Get advice about benefits
You can get free, independent advice about benefits from:
- Citizens Advice Kingston
- Staywell Kingston if you're over 60
- Kingston Centre for Independent Living if you're disabled
- Kingston Carers Network if you're an unpaid carer for someone else
- Mind in Kingston if you need help with your mental health
Homeowners
Receive care at home
If you want to receive care at home, you will not need to sell your home to pay for care.
Moving to a care home
If you need to live in a care home permanently, you may need to sell your home to pay the cost unless your partner continues to live there. If you do not want to sell your house, there might be other ways to pay for your care home costs.
Renting out your home
If you’re moving into a care home, you may want to rent out your home and use the money to help pay for your care home fees.
Releasing money from your home
If you are over 55, you might be able to take some money from the value of your home. This is called equity release. Find out more about equity release from MoneyHelper.
Homeowner loans to pay for care homes
If you own your home, you may be able to get a long-term loan from the council to pay for your care home costs. These are called deferred payment agreements, and you will need to have a care needs assessment to apply.
The loan will help you use your home's value to pay for care home fees, and we use your property as security against the loan and any payment deferrals. Any savings or capital you have must be below £23,250 to qualify.
Find out about deferred payment agreements.
Get financial advice from an expert
We cannot advise you about your money or how to pay for care. We recommend you get independent financial advice from an expert.
You can speak to the Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA) by calling 0333 2020 454. They may charge a fee for their services.
If you do not have enough savings to pay for care
If the amount you have in savings and investments falls below £23,250, let us know. We can assess your financial situation to find out if you’re eligible for financial support to pay for care. Try to let us know roughly 3 months before your capital gets below £23,250.
Find out how to get help with a financial assessment.
Managed care
You can ask the council to arrange and pay for your care in certain circumstances. We will invoice you the full cost of your care, and there will be a one-off arrangement fee and a weekly management fee on top of the care costs.