Paying for social care

Once you have had a social care needs assessment, your local authority will carry out a financial assessment to decide how much you can afford to pay. This will decide your financial contribution.

The financial assessment will tell you how your care will be paid for. For example, you may qualify for a social care personal budget.

There are 2 types of personal budgets that can pay for your care.

• A personal budget is social care-funded support and is for your social care needs. Most people must pay something towards their personal budget.
• A personal health budget is NHS-funded support and is for your health needs. You do not pay anything towards the cost.

There are various people who can manage a personal budget:

• your local authority
• the NHS
• a brokerage service, often run by a charity
• you, through direct payments

Managing a personal budget

There are several ways to make payments for your care.

Direct payments are when you manage the money from your personal budget.

You need to keep direct payments separate from any other bank accounts you have. The money can go to a:

• separate bank account that you set up
• supported bank account managed by a care agency
• pre-paid card for you to use

You can set up direct debits or standing orders from your bank account. 

If you are employing someone, you will need to manage a payroll.

Direct payments

Managing your own money

Most local authorities will review your care package every year. You can ask for a review sooner if:

• your condition changes
• the support you are receiving is not enough or right for you

Contact your council and ask them for a new assessment. 

Contact your local council (GOV.UK)

Challenging social care decisions

You can make a complaint or challenge your social care decision. 

You can ask for a review with your social worker.

A review is like a needs assessment. It will look at your current support and what your needs are. 

Problems with your care package or personal budget

Direct payment review 

Your local authority or the NHS should review your direct payments every 12 months.

You can ask for a review if:

• your needs have changed
• your personal budget is paying for an unsuitable placement, like a day centre that you are no longer using

Direct payment review

If your assessment is not accessible to you 

You have the right to accessible assessments. Before your assessment you can ask for adjustments, such as:

• having the assessment at your home instead of an office
• having 2 shorter assessments if you struggle with your energy levels
• asking the assessor to repeat questions or explain them in a way you will understand
• having a friend, family member or advocate with you

If your assessment is inaccessible, you can ask to reschedule.

Having an accessible assessment

Your local authority will offer you a list of care homes that meet your needs.

If you choose a care home that is more expensive than your personal budget, a friend or family member can pay the difference. This is known as top-up fees or third-party top-up fees.

Moving into residential care 

There are some other ways to fund your care.

Selling your home to pay for care 

If you own your home, you may need to sell it to pay for residential care. There are exceptions depending on who lives with you and other factors.

NHS funding

You could be eligible for NHS continuing healthcare (CHC). This is funding from the NHS to support your health needs. The funding is a personal health budget. 

NHS continuing healthcare is for primary health needs. This is when the main reason you have care is to support your health needs or prevent them getting worse. 

NHS continuing healthcare (CHC)

Carer’s personal budget

Your carer can apply for a carer’s personal budget. This is money to support them in their caring role. They will receive the money as a single payment. It can also be called a carer’s wellbeing grant.

Self-funding

You can pay for your own care.

This could be through benefits like Attendance Allowance (AA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

Disability benefits and financial help for disabled people