Few of us can afford to pay the high cost of long-term care out of our day-to-day income. But don’t worry, there are other ways to finance your care.
Why you might need to pay for long-term care
- You don’t qualify for local council funding or Health and Social Care Trusts, in Northern Ireland.
- You want to improve your care at home by paying a little more.
- You need to make up a care fees shortfall while the local council is funding your care during a deferred payment agreement period.
If you want to know more about your options in England, you can get personalised information from the Care Confidence toolOpens in a new window The tool can help you feel better prepared to make the best decision for you or your loved one. It’s free, anonymous and only takes a few minutes to complete.
Check your entitlements and ask the right questions
Before you do anything, check you’re claiming all the State and other benefits you’re entitled to – some of these aren’t means tested.
Make sure you’ve checked out all the local council, or in Northern Ireland, Health and Social Care Trusts, and NHS funding options too.
If you move into a care home and your property is left empty, you should receive full exemption from Council Tax/Rates until it’s sold.
Other questions to consider include:
- Is the care you’re choosing affordable over the long term?
- Have you had an assessment of your needs from the local council, or Health and Social Care (HSC) Trusts in Northern Ireland, and would they meet the fees of a care home you’ve chosen if you had to fall back on their funding?
- Or would the care provider continue to accommodate you at local council rates?
Find out more in our guide Paying your own care costs if you’ve used all your savings
How to fund your long-term care
Immediate need care fee payment plan
This is designed to help if you need care immediately. In return for investing a lump sum, you get a guaranteed income for life.
Find out more in our guide Immediate needs annuity guide
Downsizing
Selling your home and buying a cheaper one could free up money to pay for your care
Find out more in our guide Downsizing your home to fund your long-term care
Using the 12-week property disregard
What is it?
If you need to live in a care home permanently and need to use the value in your property to fund your care home fees, you may be entitled to financial support from your local council for up to 12 weeks.
If you’re eligible, the local council must not include the value of your property in your financial assessment for 12 weeks. This is called a 12-week property disregard. Depending on the level of your income and other savings, your local council may contribute to your care home fees during this time, or until you sell your property, if sooner.
Who gets it?
To qualify, your savings – capital excluding the value of your property – need to be below the savings threshold. In 2023/24, this is:
- in England and Northern Ireland, £23,250
- in Scotland, £28,500
- in Wales, £50,000 – care in a care home.
That said, the amount local councils will give you differs.
So if you want to go into a care home that’s more expensive than your local council or HSC has agreed to pay for, you’ll have to find the extra money during the 12 weeks or find a cheaper alternative.
People who have not been able to, or don’t want to, sell their homes to pay for their care can enter into a deferred payments agreement with the local council (this does not apply in Northern Ireland). This is where the council continues to pay towards the care home fees.
Find out more in our guide Deferred payment agreements for people who own their own home and are moving into a care home
Read more in the ‘Care home fees and treatment of property’ factsheet on the Age UK websiteOpens in a new window
Examples of how savings affect care costs:
- Jane owns her own home and has £10,000 in savings. This means she’s entitled to the full 12 weeks of free care. This is because she has less than £23,250 in savings and she’s in England.
- David has £25,000 in savings. He’s over the threshold, which is £23,250. Let’s say that one week in care costs £1,000. David would have to pay his own care for two weeks, until his savings came under the threshold of £23,250.
- Emma has £50,000 in savings. Even if her care costs £1,000 a week, she would spend £12,000 over the 12 weeks, leaving her with £38,000. But this would mean that she’s still over the £23,250 threshold, so couldn’t get free care.
Find out more about capital thresholds in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for paying for long-term care in our guide Local council funding for care costs – do you qualify?
Equity release
This gives you a lump sum or steady income to pay for your care using some of the money that’s tied up in your house, while you carry on living there.
The money must be repaid at a later stage when the house is sold.
It’s important to only consider an equity-release scheme when you’ve looked at all the other options.
Find out more in our guide Using an equity release scheme to fund your care
Investment bonds
You can use investment bonds to help pay for your care.
However, there’s no guarantee that the returns will cover the cost of your care, and your money is tied up for a long time. So, they’re not generally one of the better options.
Sale-and-rent-back schemes
In a sale-and-rent-back scheme, you sell your home at a discount.
In return, you stay living there as a rent-paying tenant for a set length of time. This is called a fixed term.
This might seem tempting if you want to stay in your home and need to pay for care.
However, only consider a sale-and-rent-back scheme as a last resort. This is because:
- you’ll get less money for your home than you would if you sold it on the open market
- you’ll no longer own your home and you will have to pay rent – this might use up money you want to spend on care
- your rent could go up during and after the fixed term of your tenancy
- you might have to leave your home after your tenancy agreement ends
- you could be evicted if you break the rules of your tenancy agreement – for example, if you fall behind with your rent
- if the person or company buying your home gets into financial difficulties, your home could be repossessed.
It’s important not to sign a new sale-and-rent-back agreement without first getting independent advice about your other options.
Other options for funding your long-term care
- Rent out your home.
- Cash in savings and shares.
- Sell things you own, such as art, antiques or collectibles.
- Check for insurance policies that could cover care costs.
In some areas, there are schemes called ‘Homeshare’.
This involves having someone share your home in exchange for some low-level support, such as cooking meals or running errands.
This won’t be suitable if you need more complex care.
Find out more on the Shared Lives Plus website
Next steps
Did you know?
An independent financial adviser who specialises in long-term care funding is often known as a specialist care fees adviser.
Choosing how to pay for your long-term care is a big decision. It’s important to speak to an independent financial adviser to discuss which option is best for you.
Look for an adviser with the specialist CF8 qualification. This means they’re qualified to advise on funding long-term care.
They’ll be able to explain all the costs and risks, and can help with other things, such as arranging your will or setting up a power of attorney.
The ultimate aim is to maximise your income for meeting care costs while, as far as possible, preserving your original capital.
Find out more in our guide Get financial advice on how to fund your long-term care
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