Costs and charges
Use our form to check if you need to pay for your care using your savings and investments.
Check if you need to pay for your care home
When you are choosing a care home it is important to know that care home costs can vary widely.
If you pay for yourself, you and the care home agree the cost. The charges can be high. If you are partly funded by us, the charges for older people are much lower.
Nursing homes employ professionally qualified nursing staff and so their charges are higher than residential care homes.
Download our paying for a care home leaflet (PDF, 430 KB).
The leaflet explains what we will ask for and how we do the assessment.
Your charges
Your charges are based on your income and any savings and investments you have. If you are paying the full cost of your care home, you may be eligible for free personal and nursing care.
The following is a summary - please be sure to read all sections which are relevant to you.
If you have savings worth more than £35,000, you can choose any care home. We pay for your personal and nursing care, if you are eligible, and you pay the care home fees.
If you have savings worth less than £35,000, you can choose a care home from the list that accept our fees. We pay a fee to the care home which includes your personal and nursing care. We ask you to complete a financial assessment, and you pay a contribution to us from your income. This contribution might include some money from your savings.
Department for Work and Pensions information
You need to tell the Department for Work and Pensions that you have gone into a care home.
It is your responsibility or that of your financial representative to contact the Department for Work and Pensions to
- advise them of a move to a care home
- seek advice about your eligibility for benefits you are currently receiving
- apply for extra benefits you are entitled to.
If you have a spouse or partner remaining at home, they should contact the Department for Work and Pensions to discuss their eligibility for benefits in their own right. Call the Department for Work and Pensions on
0800 731 0469.