THE NHFA
The Nursing Homes Fee Agency
EXPLAINS
PLANNING FOR CARE HOME FEES
CARE
IS VITAL FOR OLDER PEOPLE
Moving a loved one into a care home is a very difficult
and emotional time for all involved. Problems can be compounded by the lack
of information available on the financial and legal issues that need to be
addressed when obtaining and paying for care. To help negotiate this
minefield the NHFA Care Fees Advisory Services provides specialist advice
that aims to enable older people to meet the cost of their chosen care
whilst also preserving their capital.
If you, or a friend or relative has an immediate
need for care or even if you are planning for such an eventuality in the
future the following tips could be useful.
It is definitely worth drawing up a lasting power of
attorney. For the sake of paying a solicitor's fee you could save a lot of
expense and complications if in the future you were unable to cope with your
own affairs and your family had to involve the Court of Protection.
If you
are in the course of selling your house to pay for care there is provision for the Local Authority to help you while your property is on the market. You will be asked to claim any Pension Credit you may be entitled to bringing your income up to £130.00 of which you keep £21.90 per week for personal expenses and contribute the balance of £108.10 towards your care fees. For the first twelve weeks of permanent residence in a care home the local authority ignore the value of your property. Beyond that period the balance that Social Services lay out on your behalf will form a charge against the property and be recovered from the sale proceeds.
If it is intended to sell the property, entitlement to attendance allowance and Pension Credit continues during this 'loan' period. However, if the property is not being sold it may be treated as capital by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and, subject to its value, entitlement to Pension Credit could cease.
If you have capital of below £23,000, you may be entitled to some assistance from the State towards your care costs. First your Social Services department will carry out an assessment of your care needs under Section 47of the NHS Community Care Act 1990. If you are assessed as needing nursing home or residential care, you will be asked to claim any Income Support benefits or Pension credit you may be entitled to and these will be taken into account in a means test to ascertain how much you can afford to pay. Normally you will have to pay all your income towards the fees, less £21.90 per week you must retain for personal expenses. If you have capital of below £14,000, you will receive the maximum help. If you have capital of between £14,000 and £23,000 you will also have to make a capital contribution of £1 for each £250 of capital between these two figures. The above applies to England and Northern Ireland. Scotland £22,500/£13,750, personal expenses allowance £21.90 per week. Wales £22,000/£20,750, personal expenses allowance £22.00 per week.
If your care needs are primarily health care
needs you may be entitled to full NHS funding under your local health
authority’s continuing care eligibility criteria, which is free and not
means tested. Otherwise, The NHS will make an assessed contribution towards
your fees if you require nursing of up to £106.30 per week. (People who were receiving assistance with nursing fees prior to October 2007 may receive more than this amount.) This applies even
if you are only staying for a short respite period.
If you are self-funding your care there’s a good
chance you can claim attendance allowance. This is a non-means tested, non-taxable allowance paid at the lower rate of £47.10 per week for those needing care by day or night and, at a higher rate of £70.35 per week for those needing care by day and night. However, it is not payable if the Local Authority are paying towards your care.
For many older people, an immediate
concern will be to ensure that they can afford the care they have chosen
over the long term. If you are unsure of this make sure the social services
will fund it if your money should run out, and that your care home will
continue to accommodate you for whatever the local authority might pay. A
move to lesser accommodation can be distressing. This situation can be
avoided through the prudent investment of capital. If therefore you have to
pay for care consider purchasing an immediate need care fees payment plan.
Normally requiring just part of one's capital to purchase, they are a way of
meeting care costs whilst potentially capping the cost of care. Thus, as so
many older people wish, enabling an inheritance to be left for the family.
Current care home fees are so
high that failing to plan carefully for long-term care can have disastrous
financial consequences. Residential and nursing care home fees are now
running at around £23,000 and £32,000 a year respectively. Most local
authorities expect you to pay for home care as well as residential care if
you have capital or savings of over £23,000.
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Specialist
financial advice
These are just a few of the points to consider.
NHFA Care Fees Advisory Services aims to
enable older people find the best ways of paying for care whilst also
preserving their capital and with that their independence, dignity and
choice.
The service offers confidential and impartial advice on the best ways of
paying for care and arranging one’s finances to provide a regular income
with the flexibility to meet any future changes in care needs. The advice is
given by financial experts who not only specialise in older people’s care
needs, but have a detailed knowledge of local authority charging and
assessment procedures, health authority responsibilities, DWP benefits,
Inheritance Tax planning and associated legal matters.
Diana Roberts of
NHFA Care Fees Advisory Services, says: “Many
older people face funding the lion’s share of their care. Unless their
capital is invested appropriately, they face using up their savings - at
worst, completely running out of money when they still wish for care over
and above what the local authority might provide. At what is often a time of
emotional upheaval,
NHFA Care Fees Advisory Services can take the
reins on financial matters. Our Care Fees Advisers are specially trained to
offer impartial, personally tailored financial solutions to help older
people best meet their immediate or future care needs.”
For advice, long term care guides or an appointment with a local adviser you
can contact the NHFA on Freefone 0800 99 88 33 or by writing to NHFA,
St Leonards House, Mill Street, Eynsham, Oxford, OX29 4JX or the NHFA
website can be accessed at: www.nhfa.co.uk
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