Who Pays for Care? A Plain-English Guide to Funding and Assessments in the UK

Of everything families face, funding is the part that causes the most confusion and worry. Who pays? How much? What’s free and what isn’t? The rules are genuinely complicated, and the stress of not knowing can be as hard as the cost itself.

This guide won’t replace proper financial advice, and I’ll be clear where you need it, but it will help you understand the landscape so you know what questions to ask and what to expect.

A quick honest word

When we were going through this, the funding maze was the part that floored me. Phone calls in a language I didn’t speak, forms with no explanation, and no clear answer about what we’d have to pay. I learned to slow every conversation down and ask: “Can you explain that in plain English?” You’re allowed to do the same.

Start with a needs assessment

Before any talk of money, the starting point is a needs assessment from your local council’s adult social care team. This is free, and anyone who appears to need care and support has the right to one.

The assessment looks at what help the person needs day to day, washing, dressing, eating, mobility, staying safe. It results in a view of what support would help, which then leads to the question of who pays for it.

Action: Contact your local council’s adult social care team and ask for a needs assessment. You can request one for someone else with their agreement.

Want the full step-by-step version of how these two assessments actually connect, including the 12-week property disregard? Read our dedicated walkthrough →

Then comes the financial assessment (means test)

If the council agrees the person needs care, they carry out a financial assessment , a means test, to work out how much, if anything, the person must contribute.

The means test looks at income and capital (savings, and sometimes property). There are thresholds that determine whether the council contributes, the person pays in full, or it’s shared. These figures are for England in 2026/27. Always check the current numbers on NHS: financial assessment for social care, as other UK nations differ:

• Above £23,250 (upper capital limit). You pay the full cost of care yourself
• Below £14,250 (lower capital limit). Your capital is ignored; only your income is assessed
• Between the two . The council contributes, but you pay £1/week for every £250 of capital above the lower limit
• People in council-funded care keep a Personal Expenses Allowance (£31.80/week in England, 2026/27)

The thresholds differ across the UK: Scotland uses higher limits and provides free personal care; Wales has a single £50,000 limit; Northern Ireland matches England. Always read guidance for the right nation.

Important. The care cost cap was scrapped. You may have read about an £86,000 lifetime cap on care costs. That plan was cancelled in July 2024 and is not happening, so there is currently no cap on what someone may spend on care in England. Be wary of older articles that still mention it.

A few things worth knowing:

• Whether the person’s home counts depends on the situation. For example, if a partner still lives there, it’s usually disregarded. This is an area where getting advice really matters.
• The rules differ across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Make sure you’re reading guidance for the right nation.

This is an area where a regulated financial adviser, ideally one specialising in later-life care, can save families far more than they cost. We always recommend proper advice before making decisions about property or savings.

NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC). The one many families miss

This is important and often overlooked. NHS Continuing Healthcare is funding from the NHS, not the council, for people with significant ongoing health needs. If someone qualifies, the NHS pays for their care, and it is not means tested.

The catch is that the assessment process is complex, and many families either don’t know it exists or find it hard to navigate. If your loved one has substantial health needs (not just age-related care needs), it is worth exploring whether CHC applies.

Action: Ask the GP, hospital team or social worker about a CHC assessment if the person has significant or complex health needs.

My relative was sectioned. Who pays for their care after that?

If someone has been detained in hospital under certain sections of the Mental Health Act (sections 3, 37, 45A, 47 or 48), this is a genuinely different funding route from everything else on this page, and it's easy to be told almost nothing about it in the moment. It's called Section 117 aftercare, and if it applies, the NHS and the local council have a joint legal duty to provide it free of charge, with no means test at all.

Section 117 covers the ongoing support that relates to that mental health condition, care and supervision aimed at reducing the risk of a relapse or another hospital admission. It's separate from Continuing Healthcare above, and having one doesn't rule out the other, someone on Section 117 can still be separately assessed for CHC or NHS-funded nursing care for a different physical health need at the same time.

Action: If a hospital or unit tells you someone "will be funded under Section 117," ask them to confirm this in writing and ask what it actually covers. If a council later tries to means-test or charge for something you believe falls under Section 117, that's worth challenging directly, this is one of the few funding routes that genuinely is free by law, not a discretionary decision.

A backdated benefit payment pushed us over the threshold. What now?

This comes up often, and it's a genuine worry: a backdated benefit lump sum, a pension credit back payment, an inheritance, or a compensation payment lands, and suddenly someone's savings look like they're above the £23,250 threshold, even though nothing about their actual day-to-day money has changed.

Some backdated benefit payments do get special treatment in means-tested benefit rules, disregarded for a period rather than counted straight away as capital. Whether the same treatment applies to a council's care-funding financial assessment specifically can depend on the type of payment and the individual circumstances, so this genuinely isn't one to guess at or rely on a forum comment for, however well meaning.

Action: Ask the council's financial assessment team directly whether the specific payment you've received is disregarded, and for how long. If you want a second opinion before that conversation, Age UK and Citizens Advice both offer free, impartial guidance and can help you ask the right question.

When do we separate joint bank accounts?

If you and your loved one share a joint account, there's no single fixed moment you're required to separate it, and rushing to do so before you understand the full picture can create its own complications. What matters is having the right authority in place before you start managing their finances alone, most commonly a registered Lasting Power of Attorney for property and financial affairs.

Action: If an LPA is already in place but not yet registered or activated, that's usually the right first step before making changes to shared accounts. If there's no LPA and the person no longer has capacity to make one, you may need to apply to the Court of Protection for deputyship instead, a longer process, so it's worth starting early. Our guide to wills, LPAs and deputyship covers this in more detail, and your bank's bereavement or vulnerable customer team can usually talk you through their specific process once you have the right authority.

Other support worth checking

• Attendance Allowance . A benefit for people over State Pension age who need help with personal care, not means tested on income.
• Carer’s Allowance , £86.45/week (2026/27) for people providing at least 35 hours of care a week, subject to an earnings limit (£204/week) and other conditions.
• Council tax reductions — including the Severe Mental Impairment discount, which can be worth 25% to 100% off, and is often missed entirely.

Check eligibility on GOV.UK or with a benefits adviser. Citizens Advice and Age UK both offer free help.

Where to get trustworthy help

You don’t have to work this out alone:

• Citizens Advice . Free, impartial guidance on benefits and care funding
• Age UK . Advice line and factsheets specifically on care funding
• A specialist later-life financial adviser . For decisions involving property, savings or self-funding

You’re asking the right questions

If you’ve read this far, you’re already doing the most important thing, finding out before you commit. That alone can protect your family from costly mistakes.

The Care Compass helps you understand where you are and what comes next at every stage. Funding sits at the heart of The Care Compass Journey, and wherever you are on it, there’s a next step.

Want help preparing for the CHC assessment?

CHC Toolkit · £6.98

Understand the 12 domains, gather evidence and prepare the questions worth asking.

View the toolkit →

You don’t have to navigate it alone.