Pay for residential or nursing home care

The cost of a care home depends on the care provider, the type of care you need and how much money you have.

About financial assessments

If you can get care and support from us, we’ll offer you a financial assessment. This is to see if you can get help towards the cost of your care. You can choose not to have a financial assessment, but you’ll then have to pay the full cost of your care and support. 

If you have savings over £23,250, you’ll have to pay the full fees charged by the care home. You’ll need to arrange to pay the care home yourself. Find out how to pay for residential or nursing care homes.

Get help to pay for your care

If you or someone you care for needs care and support, you could get benefits to help with the cost, even if you have savings. 

Check you're getting the correct benefits.

How much you will have to pay towards the cost of your care home

Each year the council sets the fee rates it will pay to care homes. Many care homes agree to the council’s set rates for some or all of their rooms, but others charge more.

If you choose to go into a care home that costs more than the council’s set rates, you’ll need to pay the difference in cost. This is called a third-party top up charge. This must be paid as well as the amount you have been assessed to pay towards your care. 

If you’ve already been paying for a care home which costs more that the set rates, and your savings are about to fall below £23,250, you should look into different options to pay for your care.

You may want to:

  • ask the home to accept the lower fee rates
  • move to a different room in the care home at the lower fee rate
  • arrange for someone to pay the third party top-up charge
  • move to a different care home that costs within, or closer to the set rate

Find out about the charging policy for care services.

More information

Find out how to get independent financial advice.

If you have a long-term complex health need, you could get free social care arranged by the NHS. This is known as NHS continuing healthcare.

Find out how to pay for residential and nursing home care.

Find out how to pay for care and support at home or choose the right support or care home.