Paying for a care or nursing home (residential care) from the council

This guide is for people who have eligible needs and are getting support from the council. If you are funding your own care, please see our self-funding page.

This information is valid until the end of March 2026.

Will you need to pay

If you access care and support from the council, you will usually need to pay a contribution towards the cost of your residential or nursing care. This includes the residential element at a residential college (if the council are part-funding it).

The amount of your contribution is based upon your financial circumstances. If you are eligible for support from the council, we will do a financial assessment. See our charges for care from the council page for more information on financial assessments.

During the financial assessment, the council will also agree a maximum amount it will pay for your care at a residential or nursing care home. If you choose an alternative residential or nursing care home and the fee is more than the amount the council agrees and your agreed contribution, you may need a third party 'top up'.

If you get any NHS-funded nursing care (FNC), this will be claimed directly by the care home.

If you don't want to have a full financial assessment

If you do not want to have a full financial assessment but want to access council support, the council must have satisfactory evidence that you can afford, and can continue to afford, to pay for your care. You must complete a financial assessment form and provide enough information and evidence as required. This is called a light-touch financial assessment.

It is to your advantage to fully disclose your financial information to make sure that you are charged correctly and for the Assessment Officer to provide advice about benefit entitlement.

If you do not fully disclose your finances, you will be charged the full cost of you care home placement.

How we calculate your contribution

The financial assessment will look at the income and 'assets' you have. 

Assets can include:

• cash
• savings
• premium bonds
• stocks and shares
• funds held in bank, building society and Post Office accounts
• the value of land or property (in some circumstances, your house may be disregarded - see guidance below)

Assets held in joint names will have an equal portion assumed to each person unless there is evidence to the contrary. You will be asked to provide evidence to support all the information used in your financial assessment.

There are two thresholds. The upper threshold is £23,250. The lower threshold is £14,250.

If you have more than £23,250 in assets

If you have more than £23,250 in assets, you can ask us to help arrange your residential care, but we are not required to meet your needs and arrange it for you.

You are not entitled to receive any financial assistance from the council. You will need to pay the full cost of your care until your assets falls below £23,250.

If you have less than £23,250 in assets

If you have less than £23,250 in assets, we will calculate your contribution towards the cost of your care. This calculation is:

• your income
• plus a 'tariff income' calculated from your assets
• minus a personal expenses allowance
• minus the running costs of your home in the community until your placement in a care home becomes permanent

If you own your own home, see our guidance below on how we consider the cost of your property.

Income

We will ask for details of all of your income. Income that is paid to a partner that is based on your joint financial circumstances (for example Pension Credit, Universal Credit, or Income based Jobseekers Allowance or Employment Support Allowance) must be declared.

You will be expected to claim your full welfare benefit entitlement. We will give you advice about this as part of your financial assessment.

Your income will continue to be paid directly to you and you will receive an invoice to pay your assessed contribution.

Tariff income

The 'tariff income' is a weekly amount calculated from the value of your assets. It is calculated as £1 per week tariff income for every £250 of assets you own between £14,250 and £23,250. 

For example, if you have £15,250, that would be £1000 over £14,250. There are 4 lots of £250 in £1000, so your tariff income would be £4 per week.

Some assets can be disregarded and so we would always recommend that you engage in the financial assessment process.

Personal expenses allowance

The calculation will always leave you with a personal expenses allowance. This is currently £30.65 per week.

If you own your home

If you own your own home, we will not include the value of your home in our calculations during your trial period and for the first twelve weeks from the date that you are a permanent resident. During this time (known as the 'twelve week disregard period'), your assessed contribution will be based upon your income and assets (as set out above).
 

If you sell the property during the disregard period, we will take the proceeds into account immediately.

After the disregard period, the value of your property may be taken into account. In certain circumstances, we will continue to disregard it - for example, if your partner still lives in the property. If we do take the value of your property into account, you will need to pay the full cost of your placement from this date.

If you do not want to sell your property, we can arrange to 'defer' (delay) immediate payment of some of the cost using your property as security. This is known as a 'deferred payment agreement'. If we arrange a deferred payment, you will need to continue to pay part of the cost of your placement, based on your available income and assets. The remainder of the cost of your placement accrues against a legal charge placed on your property. See our deferred payment guidance for further information.

If you have any questions about property ownership, please contact the Financial Assessment and Charging Team.

Giving away money or assets (deprivation of assets and income)

If you give away some money to family or friends on purpose to avoid paying for care, we may still include it when we decide how much you should pay. This is known as 'deprivation' of assets or income. Deprivation is deliberate when someone gives away money or assets, or does not claim an income they are entitled to, to put themselves in a better position for the financial assessment to try and reduce their care charges.

If you give away money on purpose, you will be treated as if you still have that money and you may have to pay the full cost. During the financial assessment process we can look for evidence of deliberately or intentionally giving away money.

There are many ways that people might give away money or not claim an income they are entitled to. For example:

• a lump sum payment such as a gift, or to pay off another person's debt
• transferring the title deeds of a property to someone else
• putting money into a trust that cannot be revoked
• converting money into another form that has to be disregarded from the financial assessment, (for example: personal possessions, investment bonds with life assurance)
• reducing assets through spending a lot of money on items, such as expensive holidays
• selling an asset for less than its true value
• not claiming a private pension or deferring your state pension

To assess whether deprivation of assets or income is deliberate, we will want to know the reason for giving away or spending the money (also known as 'transfer' or 'disposal'), why, and when it was done. We may want to see receipts or documentary evidence. We will look to see if the transaction took place at a time when care needs were being considered and consider if gifts were made previously and regularly. Unlike other rules such as Income Tax, Capital Gains or Inheritance Tax, there is no limit to how far back the council can consider possible deprivation. Similarly, tax rules surrounding gifting do not apply.

If you are found to have deliberately deprived yourself of assets you can be treated as having 'notional assets'. This means we will include the value of the assets that you have disposed of in your financial assessment. If the notional assets added to your actual assets comes to more than £23,250, the council may assess you as being able to meet the full cost of your care and support. If you are found to have deprived yourself of income you can be treated as having 'notional income' of the maximum income you are entitled to receive from the income source (for example: a private pension pot).

If you currently get disability benefits

If you get disability related benefits, these may stop when you move into a care or nursing home.

If you do not pay the full cost of your residential or nursing care, you can only continue to get Attendance Allowance, Personal Independence Payment (Daily Living Component) or Disability Living Allowance (Care Component) for a maximum of 4 weeks after you moved in. You should let the Department of Work and Pensions know that you have moved into residential or nursing care - find disability benefits contact details on GOV.UK. 

If you are paying the full cost of your residential or nursing care, you can still get these benefits.

After the financial assessment

Once we've completed the financial assessment, we will write to you to tell you how much your contribution will be.

Invoices

We will send you an invoice every four weeks following the date that you enter the care home. You will receive thirteen invoices a year. The back of the invoice will include instructions on how to pay. You can pay by standing order - the Financial Assessment and Charging Officer will be able to arrange this for you.

If you have a stay in hospital, you will still be charged your assessed contribution whilst in hospital if your bed is kept for you at the care home. 

If you think your financial assessment is incorrect

If you think your financial assessment is incorrect, please contact the Financial Assessment and Charging Officer who completed the assessment. They will check the assessment with you to make sure the information included is accurate.

If you are still not satisfied with the outcome of the financial assessment, the council has a Charging for Adult Social Care Review and Appeals process which is in two stages.

The first stage is a review of the financial assessment by the Financial Assessment and Charging Team Manager. This will make sure that the assessment has followed the council's Adult Social Care charging policy and contains no errors. If you are still not satisfied at stage one, stage two will involve an appeal to a panel of senior managers.

If you feel that we have not assessed you correctly, contact the Financial Assessment and Charging Team.

Top up payments

If you want to choose an alternative placement that is more expensive than the one we have identified, someone must be willing and able to pay the difference between the care home fee and the amount in your personal budget, for the likely duration of your stay. This is called a 'top-up payment'. 

If you get funding from the council for your care home placement, you should not enter into any private agreement about additional payments for care. The contract for the placement will be held by the council and all fee negotiations must be between the council and the care home.

You can find further information in our care home top-up payments guidance.

Arranging and funding your own care (self funders)

You are a self funder if:

• you have contracted directly with a care home without any involvement from West Berkshire Council and you pay the full cost of your care
• your care needs have been assessed but you are not currently eligible for adult social care services

See our funding your care (self-funders) page for further information, including what to do if your assets are nearly at £23,250.

Getting independent advice

You can find out about independent financial advice on our planning for future care costs page.

Reviews

We will revise your financial assessment in April each year in line with any annual increases in rates, benefits and pensions. We will also contact you every year to make sure your charge is still correct.

You must let the Financial Assessment and Charging Team know about any changes to your financial circumstances, as soon as they happen. This includes any of the financial information we used in an assessment, including:

• increases or decreases in income and/or benefits, pensions
• increases or decreases in assets or in the way that assets or investments are held
• changes in expenses

This may affect the amount that you have been assessed to pay. Any changes to your financial circumstances will be backdated to the date they change. This may mean you get a backdated invoice for care charges.

Standard residential care charges

The council's rates usually increase on 1st April each year. This may affect the amount you are charged. You will receive written notification of any changes. If you need more details about charging, please contact the Financial Assessment and Charging Team.

Residential/Nursing Care Independent Sector Homes - full cost per week: actual cost.

You can  read our full Adult Social Care Charging Policy [635KB] .

Download this guidance, large print and Easy Read

You can download our PDF guidance note [720KB] , or download a large print version [724KB] . You can also read our  Easy Read charges for your care guide [1MB] .

We are committed to being accessible to everyone. If you require this document in an alternative format or translation, please contact the Financial Assessment and Charging Team.