Paying for Care Yourself: What Self-Funders Should Know

If you’re paying for a parent’s care from their savings, or the sale of their home, it can feel like the bills only go one way. This guide covers what’s worth knowing before you sign, and before the money runs out. It covers England; the rules are different in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

What “self-funding” means

The council’s financial assessment decides who pays. In England, if someone has more than £23,250 in capital, they usually pay the full cost themselves. Between £14,250 and £23,250 the council contributes and they pay part; below £14,250 savings are ignored and they contribute from income. Their home can count too, unless a partner or certain relatives still live there. Our care funding guide walks through the assessment step by step.

Why self-funders often pay more

Councils agree set rates with care homes, and these are often lower than it costs to run the home. Many homes make up the difference by charging people who pay for themselves more for the same room and the same care. How big the gap is varies a lot by area and by home. One study for the County Councils Network found self-funders in nursing homes paying around 45% more than the council rate.

None of this is your fault or theirs. But it’s worth knowing, so you can ask the right questions.

Can the council arrange it for you?

• Care at home: if someone has eligible care needs, they can ask the council to arrange their home care even if they pay for it themselves. Age UK explains the council must do so, though it may charge an arrangement fee.
• Care homes: there’s no matching right yet. A plan to let all self-funders ask the council to arrange a care home place, at council rates, was delayed and then dropped. You can still ask, and some councils will help, but they don’t have to.

Questions to ask before you sign

• What is the weekly fee, and exactly what does it include?
• How have fees gone up over the last few years, and how are increases decided?
• If the money runs out, can they stay? Will the home accept the council’s rate, or will a family top-up be needed?
• What costs extra (hairdressing, trips, toiletries, escorts to hospital)?
• What are the notice periods and terms if things change?

Get the answers in writing. The question about the money running out matters most, because a move later can be very hard on someone with dementia.

Before the money runs out

Contact the council about three months before savings are likely to drop to £23,250, and ask for a needs assessment and a financial assessment. MoneyHelper recommends this timing so everything is in place in time, and many councils only help from the date you contact them, not before. If the home charges more than the council will pay, a family member may be asked for a top-up, or the person may need to move.

If the money is tied up in a house

• The 12-week property disregard: when someone moves into a care home permanently and their other savings are under £23,250, the value of their home is ignored for the first 12 weeks, giving time to decide what to do.
• A deferred payment agreement: the council pays now and recovers the money from the house later, so it doesn’t have to be sold straight away. Ask your council if they apply.

Help that doesn’t depend on savings

• Attendance Allowance isn’t means-tested, and self-funders in a care home can usually keep claiming it (see our Attendance Allowance guide).
• NHS Continuing Healthcare pays the full cost of care for people whose needs are mainly health needs, whatever their savings. NHS-funded nursing care pays towards the nursing part of a nursing home place. Both are covered in our care funding guide.

Where to get free, independent advice

Age UK Advice Line: 0800 169 6565. Independent Age: 0800 319 6789. If you’re weighing up bigger financial decisions, use a regulated financial adviser who specialises in care fees. Be wary of anyone promising to “protect the home from care fees”: giving assets away to avoid care costs can be treated as deliberate deprivation.

A word from The Care Compass

Paying for care can feel like watching a lifetime of savings disappear, and the unfairness of paying more than the person in the next room is real. You can’t change the system on your own, but asking the right questions early protects both of you later.

Sources: NHS: paying for your own care; Age UK: paying for homecare; MoneyHelper: when the money runs out; Independent Age: your home and care fees; Community Care: County Councils Network fee research; Caring Times: care home arrangement plan dropped.

You don’t have to navigate it alone.