Do I have to pay for social care?

Depending on where you live and how much money you have, you may have to pay for some or all of your social care.

Social care is practical help with everyday tasks. It includes things like help with getting out of bed, going to the toilet or having a shower, eating and drinking, using public transport or meeting friends.

The social care you can get depends on your needs. It might include having professional carers in your home, getting equipment for your home, or being cared for in a care home.

Social care is provided by the local council or, in Northern Ireland, the health and social care trust. You will usually need to have an assessment (see How do I get a care and support needs assessment? below).

In England and Wales, you may have to pay for some social care.

In Northern Ireland, the health and social care trust can charge you, but it’s rare. They do not usually charge for care services in your home. If you’re over 75 and live in Northern Ireland in your own home, you will not be charged for social care services in your home.

In Scotland, personal care is free. Personal care covers things like helping you with showering, dressing, preparing meals and going to the toilet. Some social care is not covered, like help with housework and laundry. You may have to pay for this.

If you have complex healthcare needs, you may be able to get NHS continuing healthcare. This is a funding package which can pay for all of your care. This includes paying care home fees or paying for carers if you’re living in your own home.

If you are very ill or approaching the end of your life, you may be able to get NHS continuing healthcare fast-tracked.

Your council or trust may do a financial assessment to decide how much you’re able to pay towards the cost of your care. This is called a means test.

It will decide if:

Their financial assessment (or means test) will look at:

If you have savings and assets which are more than a certain amount, you may have to pay for some or all of your care. If you need a carer to come into your home, the value of your house will not be counted in that amount.

A certain amount of your money is protected to make sure you’ve got enough to live on. And the council or trust must be sure that paying for your care does not reduce your income below a certain level. If you think a charge is not fair, you can make a complaint to your council or trust.

In England, Scotland and Wales, most benefits count as income. This means the council or trust will include them when they do their financial assessment (means test).

This includes disability-related benefits such as the care component of DLA, the daily living component of PIP, and Attendance Allowance .

The only benefits that do not count as part of your income are:

In Northern Ireland, your benefits may be taken into account if the trust is doing a financial assessment for you to go into a care home.

The money that is allocated to you for social care is called your personal budget (or self-directed support in Scotland).

It can only be used to pay for the social care needs you have. These needs are written in your care plan.

Your personal budget (or self-directed support in Scotland) can be managed in different ways. You can:

You can also choose to have a mix of all three of these options.

If you decide that you, or someone you choose, will manage your personal budget using direct payments they are paid to you directly by the council or trust. There are two ways then can do this. They can be:

Direct payments can also be paid to someone else to manage the payments on your behalf.

You can only use direct payments for what is in your care and support plan.

Direct payments cannot be used for:

You do not have to accept direct payments if you’d rather have your social care managed another way.

You can get an assessment through social care services at your local council or trust. It’s called a needs assessment. In Scotland, it’s called a community care assessment.

You can contact your local social care services to ask for an assessment. Or someone else can contact them for you. This could be a family member or friend, or a health or social care professional, like a GP or social worker.

If you need help finding contact details for your local social care services, you can use the websites below:

If you need care urgently, you may not need to have a full assessment. Contact your local social care services in this case.

It can help to know what happens at an assessment so that you can prepare for it, if you’re able to do this.

Before the assessment, you might find it useful to make a note of tasks and situations you find difficult. It could include things to do with your emotional wellbeing. You can use these notes in the assessment. Someone who is helping care for you can do it too. They can make a note of the things they’re finding it hard to do to support you.

Someone from your local council or trust, such as a social worker or occupational therapist, will carry out the assessment. It’s usually done face-to-face and at home, in a hospice or in hospital.

You can have someone with you who helps with your care. They can also have a carer’s assessment.    These are the sorts of things you may be asked about during your assessment:

If you’re in a hospice or hospital, your assessment can be started in the hospice or hospital and completed when you go home. They can then see how you’re managing at home.

If you meet the requirements, social care must be provided as soon as possible. But there can sometimes be a delay in getting it.

Following your assessment, you will get a copy of your care and support plan. It will list the needs you have and the support that you’ll get. It will also say whether you will have to pay anything for this support (see Is social care free? above).

If you’re finding it hard to understand the care system and do not have someone to help you, your local council or trust must arrange for someone (an advocate) to help you.

Once the support is in place, your support plan will be reviewed regularly. If your needs change, you may be reassessed and the support you get may then change too.

If you’re not eligible, the council or trust must explain their decision and give reasons for refusing to provide support services in writing.

If you think you think this is unfair or think the support you’ve been offered does not meet your needs, you have a right to appeal.

Call the department dealing with your assessment or check the council or trust’s website for their complaints procedure.

If someone is helping to care for you, they could also receive social care.

They can ask their local council or trust for a carer’s assessment for help with your needs.