Find out how deferred payments can help you pay for your care using your home as security.
The Deferred Payments Scheme can help you if you've been assessed to pay the full cost of your residential care but cannot afford to pay the full weekly charge because most of your capital is tied up in your home.
We (the council) can offer you a loan using your home as security.
It does not work in exactly the same way as a conventional loan. We do not give you a fixed sum of money when you join the scheme. Instead, we pay an agreed part of your weekly care and support bill for as long as is necessary.
You will pay the assessed weekly contribution towards your care from your income and other savings. We pay the part of your weekly charge that you cannot afford until the value of your home is realised.
The part that we pay is your ‘deferred payment’. The deferred payment builds up as a debt – which is cleared when the money tied up in your home is released.
For many people this will be done by selling their home, either immediately or later on. You can also pay the debt back from another source if you want to. However, you do not have to sell your home if you do not want to. You may, for example, decide to keep your home for the rest of your life and repay out of your estate, or you may want to rent it out to generate income. If you do this, you will be expected to use the rental income to increase the amount you pay each week, thus reducing the weekly payments made by us, and minimising the eventual debt.