Dementia Support Line
Financial Assessment for care in Northern Ireland
To help decide who will pay for care, the trust will carry out a financial assessment. The financial assessment rules for homecare is different to the assessment rules for residential care.
- Paying for dementia care in Northern Ireland
- You are here: Financial Assessment for care in Northern Ireland
- Paying for care home fees in Northern Ireland
- Do you have to sell your home to pay for care in Northern Ireland?
- Paying for dementia care if you have a partner
Paying for care and support in NI
A person with dementia may not always need a financial assessment. This may not be needed because:
- The person needs a homecare service that isn’t charged for.
- Their care comes under healthcare that is not chargeable.
Financial assessments work in slightly different ways for care in England and for care in Wales.
What happens during a financial assessment?
The person with dementia will be asked to complete some forms about their finances. Someone from the responsible Health and Social Care (HSC) trust may be able to visit to help the person fill in the forms.
In Northern Ireland, the person with dementia will have to report on two things in these forms:
- Income – this refers to any money the person receives regularly. For example, this could be a pension. It can also include benefits such as Universal credit or the Guarantee credit element of Pension credit. It doesn’t include any money the person earns if they are working.
- Capital – this refers to any other assets the person has. This includes savings and investments, such as stocks and shares. In some cases, it includes the value of the person’s home (for example, when paying for care home fees). It does not include personal possessions, such as jewellery.
The person may lack the mental capacity to take part in this process.
The HSC trust will then need to find out if there is anyone who has the appropriate authority to be involved in the person’s financial affairs. This could be an attorney under an Enduring power of attorney, or a controller. If there is no such person, then a family member or the trust may need to apply to become the person’s controller.
It can feel like an invasion of privacy when the trust look into a person’s finances. However, it is important to make sure that the person is charged the right amount for their care.
The person could be charged the full amount if they refuse to answer the financial questions.
If they lack the mental capacity to take part, they should not be penalised for that. The trust should be working with an attorney or controller instead.
Based on the information in these forms, the trust will decide what to include in the person’s financial assessment. For each type of capital and source of income the person has, the trust will either:
- Fully take it into account (known as ‘available’ capital or income).
- Partially take it into account.
- Ignore it completely (known as ‘fully disregarding’ it).
For example, some benefits like the Personal independence payment (PIP) mobility component will be fully disregarded and not expected to contribute to care costs. Whereas other benefits can be fully or partially taken into account and expected to contribute to care costs.
Once the assessment has been completed, the trust must provide clear, written information about how much a person will pay for their care. This should show clearly what has been taken into account. Regular statements from the trust should follow.
Paying for homecare
HSC trusts can choose when to charge for care and support provided at home.
Usually, trusts don’t charge for services provided in a person’s home. This may change in the future.
A trust may have a policy of not charging for most homecare services, but will make an exception for services such as:
- Home help (where available).
- ‘Meals on wheels’ – this is where a meal is brought to a person’s home.
Paying for residential care
A person may have to contribute towards the cost of their care if they need care provided in a residential or nursing home.
This will depend on their available capital and income.
In Northern Ireland, the 2024 capital limits are:
- upper capital limit – £23,250
- lower capital limit – £14,250
The trust will compare the person’s available capital to the capital limits. This will show how much the person with dementia will pay for their care from their capital.
The trust must follow regulations that are explained in the Charging for Residential Accommodation Guide (CRAG).
If the person’s capital is above the upper capital limit, they will be expected to pay all their own care costs. This is known as being a self-funder.
If the person’s capital is likely to drop to the upper threshold, they or their carer should ask the trust for a review of their finances. Ask for a review well in advance, as they can take time to be assessed.
If the person’s capital is between the upper and lower capital limits, they will pay a means-tested contribution from their capital.
This contribution is calculated as £1 per week for every £250 of capital they have above the lower limit. For example, if someone has £15,000 in capital:
- they are £750 over the lower capital limit
- (£15,000 - £14,250 = £750)
- £750 divided by £250 is 3
- £1 x 3 = £3 contribution paid per week.
There may be a gap between the person’s contribution (from both their available capital and income) and the amount the care costs. In this case, the trust should start to contribute towards the person’s care costs.
If the person’s capital is below the lower capital limit, they will still pay what they can afford from their income. However, they won’t have
to pay any contribution from their capital.
This means that they can keep any savings below £14,250 to use as they wish. The trust will pay the difference between the person’s available income and their care costs.
Can you keep any of your income?
The person will always be allowed to keep a certain amount of protected income. This is income that can’t be used to pay for care costs.
If a person is contributing to their care home fees, they must be left with a minimum amount of money for themselves each week. This is called the Personal expenses allowance (PEA).
In Northern Ireland, the 2024 Personal expenses allowance rate is £30.44 weekly.
The person with dementia can spend this money as they wish. It is not a benefit, but the person’s own income, made available to them. This can be used for anything they choose, such as newspapers, haircuts or clothing.
There are some circumstances where the trust may increase the PEA. For example, this may be the case if the person has an occupational pension being paid to them. They can keep half of this income to pass back to their spouse or civil partner who is still at home.
Benefits
The trust will expect people to claim benefits they may be entitled to. They may offer support to help the person do this.
The financial assessment will include most benefits, such as those often claimed by people living with dementia – for example:
- Pension credit
- Employment and support allowance
- Universal credit.
Some benefits must not be taken into account in the financial assessment for care. This includes the mobility part of both Disability living allowance and Personal independence payment.
Some other benefits, for example, the War widow’s pension, should only be partially counted.
Report any changes of circumstances to the relevant department that looks after the benefit. Their contact details should be on any letters sent from them. This can avoid any overpayments.
Changes can include moving into a care home, inheriting money, increasing care needs and stays in hospital.
Are benefits counted in the financial assessment?
If the person is receiving care at home and gets funding for homecare fees, this will not impact their eligibility for benefits.
If the person is receiving care in a care home, their benefits may be affected. This will depend on who is paying the care home fees.
If the person is a self-funder and is paying for their care costs in full, they can still receive some benefits.
This includes Attendance allowance or the Personal independence payment daily living component. These can help towards paying care home fees.
If the trust are contributing towards the care fees, any benefits the person continues to receive will go towards the cost of care.
This includes their State pension, or any benefits they claim as an income replacement. In these cases, the person must be left with their Personal expenses allowance (PEA).
If someone receives funding help with care home fees, some benefits usually stop being paid after 28 days. An example would be Attendance allowance.
It may help to speak to Make the Call service for a benefits check to find out whether financial help is available. Carers may also find this useful – in areas such as protecting their pension rights, for example. For more information visit nidirect.gov.uk/campaigns/guide-benefits
Any charges are based on a person’s ability to pay. If a trust decide a person must contribute, they will take into account:
Anyone who is over 75 or claiming a means-tested benefit, such as Pension credit guarantee credit, cannot be charged.
A standard charge that is not means-tested may be applied to meals on wheels at home or meals provided in day care.
The means test for home help is complicated. Ask the trust for details if they do provide and charge for this locally.
If someone refuses to pay for homecare, the trust cannot withdraw the service if the person is assessed as having critical or substantial needs. The trust would be expected to continue to meet the person’s needs while attempting to resolve the dispute.