Financial assessment

This page is about paying for care you receive in your own home. If you are going into residential accommodation and need help with financial advice, visit our dedicated pages.

What is a financial assessment?

Financial assessment: what we look at 

If the council agrees that you need care and support, we will carry out a financial assessment. This helps us work out how much you need to pay towards the cost of your care. 

We look at: 

• your income – including pensions and benefits 
• your capital – such as savings and investments 
• property ownership – including whether you own a home 

You must provide accurate and complete financial information. Giving false or incomplete details could lead to legal action. 

We do not include personal debts, like credit cards or loans. 

If you live with a partner, we only assess your income and spending. Joint savings are split equally – we count 50% as yours. 

Income we ignore 

We do not include the following in your financial assessment: 

• War Disability Pension (for veterans) 
• War Widow’s Special Payments 
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA) – mobility component 
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP) – mobility component 
• Guaranteed Income Payments (Armed Forces Compensation Scheme) 
• Armed Forces Independence Payment – mobility 

Income we include 

We include income from: 

• State Pension 
• Pension Credit 
• Income Support 
• Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) 
• Severe Disablement Allowance 
• Universal Credit 
• Occupational or private pensions and annuities 
• Armed Forces Independence Payment 
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA) – care component 
• Attendance Allowance (while paid – it usually stops 4 weeks after admission to hospital or care if you're receiving support) 
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP) – daily living component (same conditions as above) 
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit 

You can use a benefits calculatorOpens in new tab to check what you might be entitled to. 

Personal expenses allowance 

You can keep a fixed amount of your income for personal spending. From April 2025, this is £30.65 per week. 

Capital – savings, investments and cash 

We assess your capital, which includes: 

• money in bank or building society accounts 
• stocks and shares 
• National Savings Certificates and Premium Bonds 
• property and land 

Capital we ignore 

If your total savings and investments are £14,250 or less, they are not included in your assessment. 

Capital we count 

If you have: 

• more than £23,250 – you must pay the full cost of your care until your capital drops below this level 
• between £14,250 and £23,250 – we include a portion of your capital in the assessment 

When your home is not counted 

We do not include the value of your home if: 

• you are in a care home temporarily 
• your partner or spouse lives in the home 
• certain relatives live in the home (we’ll discuss this with you) 

12-week property disregard 

If you move permanently into a care home and have less than £23,250 in savings, your home will be ignored for the first 12 weeks. 

Use this time to decide how you’ll pay from week 13. Your options include: 

• selling your home 
• applying for a Deferred Payment Agreement (a loan from the council to delay care payments) 

When your home is counted 

If your home is included, we: 

• use its market value 
• deduct any outstanding mortgage or secured loans 
• deduct 10% for selling costs 

You can speak to an independent financial adviser to explore your options. 

Giving away money or property 

If you give away money or property, or sell it for less than it's worth to avoid paying for care, we may still include it in your financial assessment. 

Documents you’ll need 

You must provide: 

• recent bank statements 
• building society passbooks 
• letters from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) 

How the assessment works 

A Visiting Officer from the council will collect your income and capital details. This can be done: 

• in person 
• over the phone 

You can have a family member, friend or representative with you. 

After this, a Financial Assessment Officer will calculate your weekly care charge. At the end of the visit, you’ll be asked to sign a declaration to confirm the information you gave is correct. 

How you'll find out what to pay 

We will send you a letter with: 

• a breakdown of your care charges 
• how we worked out your contribution 

You will need to sign a direct debit mandate so payments can be collected every 4 weeks. 

Care charges start from the date your care services begin. It’s important to have your assessment early to avoid falling into debt. 

If you disagree with the outcome 

You can let us know if you think we’ve got it wrong. We’ll check the information the Visiting Officer collected when they came to see you.

You must let us know within 28 days of the date of our decision letter if you’d like us to look at your claim. Write to us, and we’ll let you know what we decide within another 28 days.