Thinking of Moving into a

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1 Thinking of Moving into a Care Home? If you are thinking of moving into a care home this leaflet provides general financial information to assist you with your decision.

2 Information and support: A specialist member of staff from NHS Care Support will be available to guide you through the financial assessment process to provide support and advice. You may also wish to consult an independent financial adviser, solicitor or voluntary support organisation to provide you with additional advice. What will it cost when I move into a care home? The actual cost of staying in a care home varies depending on your assessable income, but everyone is required to pay a contribution towards their stay, whether on an emergency or permanent basis. The actual amount that you require to pay depends on your available income. This may include Pensions, Savings, Investments and Property and you will be notified of the amount that you will be expected to pay. If you have savings and capital over 26,250, you will be classed as a self-funding resident and will be responsible for the full cost of your care. If you are 65 or over, you may be eligible for a Free Personal and /or Nursing Care payment which will be paid direct to the home. If your capital falls below 26,250 while in care, it is your responsibility to request a full financial assessment. 2

3 How much will I have to pay? Where a person is provided with care home accommodation, Section 22 of the National Assistance Act 1948 provides for them to be charged for that accommodation. Section 22 also requires the Local Authority / NHS Highland to set a standard charge for this type of accommodation. If a person is unable to pay this standard charge the Local Authority / NHS Highland must make an assessment of their ability to pay in accordance with The National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992, to determine the amount that should be charged. The amount you will need to contribute towards your accommodation in a care home is therefore based on your available income, savings and capital assets. The rules are defined by the Scottish Government and further explained in the Charging for Residential Accommodation Guidance (CRAG). This document is available on the NHS internet and can also be made available on request. Generally, most of your personal income will be taken into account in determining how much you should pay. This will include your retirement pension, any private occupational pension and most state benefits that you receive. If you are a self-funding resident, you will be responsible for the full cost of your care. The contract for your care will be between you and the care provider in accordance with their private fee rates. If you have savings and capital that are below 26,250, then we can complete a full financial assessment to accurately establish the amount that you will require to pay towards your care costs. A financial assessment is not mandatory but if you do not wish to provide us with your financial details you will be required to pay the full cost of care. 3

4 Will other members of my family have to contribute towards the cost of my care? Other members of your family are not obliged to pay anything towards the cost of your care, although they may choose to enter into a separate agreement with the care provider for extra services. The financial assessment: When it has been identified that you require a financial assessment to be carried out, a referral will be made to NHS Care Support by your case holder. A specialist member of NHS Care Support will contact you or your representative to advise on the assessment process, and to discuss financial circumstances to establish the amount that you will need to contribute towards your care costs. The financial assessment process will concentrate on the person going into care, although enquiries may be made about your spouse / partner to check whether they are receiving all the benefits to which they might be entitled. Most of your personal income will be taken into account when determining how much you should contribute towards your care home accommodation costs. This will include your retirement pension, any private occupational pension you have, and most state benefits that you receive. You will be asked to provide evidence relating to your: Income from state benefits, private pensions, trust funds etc Savings Bank, Building Society accounts, Post Office accounts, cash Any other capital, including share in property, investments in bonds, ISAs, shares, Premium Bonds etc 4

5 We will also request copies of this evidence for our records and will verify the information you provide with relevant organisations. Wherever possible, you will be given an indication of how much you will be expected to pay, at the time of the assessment. Only savings and capital owned by the person going into care are taken into account. You are considered as owning half of any savings and capital you own jointly with your spouse / partner. If you have a private or work pension and you have a spouse/ partner that continues to live at home, you will only be asked to contribute half of the pension towards your accommodation costs. Everyone retains a weekly personal expenditure allowance of to spend as they choose. Home owners - will I have to sell my property? If you do own your home the value of the property, or the value of the share which you own will normally be included as part of your capital asset if you move into care permanently. However, the value of the house which was your normal residence before moving into care will be automatically disregarded while it is being occupied by any of the following: Your husband or wife, your civil partner or your unmarried partner A relative who is over 60 years of age A relative who is incapacitated A relative under 16, who you are responsible for A divorced or estranged partner who is a lone parent with a dependent child. 5

6 We have a specialist property department who can provide you with additional information in this complex area. You may also wish to engage directly with a solicitor or take independent advice at this stage. If you do not have capital over 26,250 and we are providing you with financial assistance, the value or share of any property you own, and is considered your main residence, is disregarded for the first 12 weeks of a permanent stay in a care home. In most cases, once the value of a share in a property has been taken into account, your capital will exceed the upper limit of 26,250. If you previously owned a house, but no longer do so, we will look at the circumstances surrounding the property transfer/ownership. This is to establish whether ownership may have been transferred with the intention of avoiding/reducing any liability to contribute towards care costs. This is known as Deprivation of Capital and can apply to the disposal of any type of savings or capital as well as property. Should you decide to gift any material sums of money which will reduce your available savings, you should take advice from us before taking any such action. This can be a matter of considerable legal complexity, and anyone who might be affected by the rules on Deprivation of Capital may wish to seek their own legal advice. If you own, or have a share in, a property which has been included as assessable income but you have not yet been able to release the capital value of the property, we can make the payment on your behalf. This will not exceed the rate that we would pay for the equivalent care under the National Care Home Contract. If we make these payments on your behalf, a debt will accumulate. We will consider a payment arrangement that can be established to 6

7 guarantee discharge of the debt and the meeting of ongoing costs. Where such an arrangement is not established, or not adhered to, we will secure the debt by placing a Charging Order on the property. Charging Orders are a legal arrangement to secure a debt in respect of unpaid care charges for the provision of care against a property owned fully or in part by the debtor. If a Charging Order is established, we will issue quarterly statements informing you or your financial representative of the accumulated amount of your debt. Arranging for someone to look after your financial affairs Power of Attorney / Financial Guardian: The most comprehensive way to allow someone to manage your financial affairs is to arrange for them to be granted Power of Attorney. This allows them to look after all of your financial arrangements on your behalf, including the operation of your bank accounts etc. It is possible to arrange for this to be established yourself, but it is a legal process and many people choosing to do this may prefer to ask a solicitor to arrange it on their behalf. The person granting Power of Attorney must have the capacity to understand what this allows, and it can be established before an individual actually needs someone to act on their behalf. Information is available at the Office of the Public Guardian website. 7

8 What if my circumstances change while in care? If there is a change in your financial circumstances while you are in a care home you should advise us as it may affect your contribution. General Note: The above information is for general guidance and each case will be assessed on an individual basis. If you wish to discuss anything further, please contact NHS Care Support on Tel. No Issue No.1 Devised by Pamela MacDonald Date of issue : July 2015 Review Date : July 2016 July