Residential Care
This information is correct as of April 2008.
Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance are removed after 28 days, which immediately affects entitlement to Income Support or Pension Credit Severe Disability Premiums. Disability and Enhanced Disability Premiums are only removed after 52 weeks. If you are a carer in receipt of Carers Allowance, the benefit will stop after the person you care for has been in care for 28 days. Any Carer’s Premium paid as part your means-tested benefits will run-on for 8 weeks after Carers Allowance is removed.
If you have a car leased under the ‘Motability’ scheme then payments of DLA mobility are honoured for the term of the lease. If you simply received cash payments of DLA Mobility Component, they will stop after 28 days in care. Residential Care may have an element of Health Authority funding even if it isn’t ‘continuing care’. The NHS is responsible for any Nursing Care you are assessed as requiring, and will pay a sum to the Care Home on your behalf. The amount that they pay will fall into one of three bands, according to the level of your nursing needs. The home should not charge you for this part of your package. A registered NHS nurse performs the initial assessment of need. You will be charged by the Local Authority for the remainder of your services, and hospital benefit rules will not apply.
This is information on your rights and responsibilities and is to be used as guidance and not legal advice. Information correct as of April 2008.
Moving into a registered care or nursing home will affect many of your benefits. This guide looks at a range of factors that may affect your finances.
Those benefits that are most commonly affected are:
- Disability Living Allowance Care Component/Attendance Allowance
- Pension Credit/Income Support/Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit
- Constant Attendance Allowance/Exceptionally Severe Disablement Allowance
- Special Help for War Pensioners
Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance are removed after 28 days, which immediately affects entitlement to Income Support or Pension Credit Severe Disability Premiums. Disability and Enhanced Disability Premiums are only removed after 52 weeks. If you are a carer in receipt of Carers Allowance, the benefit will stop after the person you care for has been in care for 28 days. Any Carer’s Premium paid as part your means-tested benefits will run-on for 8 weeks after Carers Allowance is removed.
If you have a car leased under the ‘Motability’ scheme then payments of DLA mobility are honoured for the term of the lease. If you simply received cash payments of DLA Mobility Component, they will stop after 28 days in care. Residential Care may have an element of Health Authority funding even if it isn’t ‘continuing care’. The NHS is responsible for any Nursing Care you are assessed as requiring, and will pay a sum to the Care Home on your behalf. The amount that they pay will fall into one of three bands, according to the level of your nursing needs. The home should not charge you for this part of your package. A registered NHS nurse performs the initial assessment of need. You will be charged by the Local Authority for the remainder of your services, and hospital benefit rules will not apply.
Local Authority assisted
Most places in residential care tend to be funded and arranged by a Local Authority. In Durham, Social Care & Health (formerly called Social Services) is the relevant department. The department has a duty to arrange a place in care should you need it because of age, disability or other reasons. You can either be placed in one of the authority’s own homes or a private home under contract to the authority. If you are not happy with their choice of home you are expected to pay the difference should you opt for more expensive alternative accommodation. Those with capital in excess of £22,250 will automatically be required to pay the full cost of the placement until such a time as the capital falls below this limit. In addition, any part of £250 between £13,500 and £22,250 will be treated as £1.00 of income at the time of your assessment. When your capital has diminished, you will be means-tested in line with the rules governing all assisted residents. If you are not self-funding, your income will generally be taken as a charge. You will be allowed to keep a Personal Expenses Allowance of £21.15 per week and can keep any DLA Mobility, plus £5.45 of any Pension Credit Savings element received. If you are part of a couple and your partner still lives at home then a joint assessment cannot be carried out and only the resident’s own income and capital will be assessed.Temporary or long-term stay
Whether your stay is temporary or long-term can also affect the benefits you’re able to receive. If your stay is only temporary you will still be able to receive Housing Benefit or Pension Credit, or housing costs on your own property paid via Income Support/means-tested JSA/Pension Credit, if your stay is only temporary. Temporary usually means up to 52 weeks, and should not be confused with ‘trial periods’. During a ‘trial period’, housing costs can remain unchanged for 13 weeks. If there is any possibility of returning home then it is always better to describe your stay as ‘temporary’. This allows a longer period to change your mind and return home.Paying the costs yourself
If you are self-funding, paying the costs of your accommodation and care fees yourself, you can be paid Disability Living Allowance Care (and/or Mobility) or Attendance Allowance and receive all relevant premiums of Pension Credit/Income Support. The combined value of these benefits, and any pensions or assistance from family/ friends, may make self-funding a viable option in certain circumstances, depending on the level of fees payable in your choice of home.Disability Living Allowance/Attendance Allowance
Unless you are paying your own fees, you will not be paid Disability Living Allowance (Care Component) or Attendance Allowance after the first 28 days. Any Local Authority funding in your package, however small, prevents payment of Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance (Care Component). Payments can be restored if you leave care or become self-funding. You must notify the DLA Unit in Blackpool, as reinstatement is not automatic. (0800 882200). Disability Living Allowance (Mobility Component) is payable so long as you’re not covered by the hospital payment restrictions. Anybody claiming Carer’s Allowance on your behalf will lose this benefit when DLA Care or Attendance Allowance is stopped (28 days). There is an eight-week transitional period whereby Carers Premium is still included in Income Support/ Pension Credit, allowing the carer time to adjust to their loss of income.Pension Credit
From October 2003 the introduction of the new Pension Credit has simplified benefits in care. Apart from more generous tariff income limits in relation to capital, entitlement is calculated in the same way as for any member of the community. Restrictions on payment of Disability Living Allowance (Care Component) and Attendance Allowance will prevent payment of Severe Disability premiums to anybody who is not selffunding. The Guarantee element of the Pension Credit is worked out in accordance with a means-test. The basic allowance for a single person over 60 is £124.05 per week. Income of £1 for every £500 above £10,000 (instead of the usual £6,000) is assumed. Similarly, for Housing Benefit assumed income starts at £10,000 instead of £6,000. Limits do not increase until astay becomes permanent. A Savings Credit is available for those over 65. It is intended to reward those who have made private provision for their future, such as a personal pension. There is a maximum savings credit of £19.05 per week for a single person that cannot be exceeded, though only £5.25 of this will be disregarded in your financial assessment.Income Support/Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Income Support and income-based Jobseeker’s allowance both have an upper capital limit of £16,000, though tariff income only starts at £10,000. The value of any home you are selling is ignored until the sale goes through, so long as steps are being taken to sell it at a realistic price. When the property is sold, the amount (or your share of it) is treated as capital, which may necessitate a period of self-funding. Benefit paid whilst waiting for the sale of a property will not be clawed back, and the value of your home is ignored if your partner or former carer is still living there.Housing & Council Tax Benefits
You cannot normally receive Housing Benefit for costs incurred in a registered care home. However, if your stay is temporary, you may get Housing Benefit for your main home for up to 52 weeks. Intention to return home will be crucial. Protection of Housing Benefit for 13 weeks is also available to those in care for a ‘trial period’. Council Tax is not usually paid by those in Residential Care, and your former home will be classified as exempt if it is unoccupied while you are in residential care for a temporary or trial period. The definition of a temporary stay is the same as for Housing Benefit.Other Benefits
Most other benefits not in the above list are paid as normal (Retirement Pension and Incapacity Benefit, for example). Only self-funders will be able to retain these benefits as income, but if you don’t claim them then it is possible that the ‘deprivation of income’ rules may lead to an assumption that you have, when you are financially assessed.Winter Fuel Payments
Cold Weather payments based on consecutive temperatures are not available to those on means-tested benefits in Care Homes. If, however, you are over 60 on the third Monday in September of any qualifying year and have been living in a Care Home for 13 weeks or more whilst not receiving income-based JSA or Pension Credit, you will receive a Winter Fuel Payment of £200 (or £300 if you are over 80). Claims can be made by contacting the Winter Fuel Payment Helpline (tel: 08459 151515).This is information on your rights and responsibilities and is to be used as guidance and not legal advice. Information correct as of April 2008.
Res Care Apr 08.pdf (4 pages, 337kb)
