Personal budgets and paying for your care

Information about the costs of adult social care, the different options for paying for services and how we might be able to help with your care costs.

This approach is sometimes called personalisation. It means you have greater choice and control about how your needs are met.

What is a personal budget?

A personal budget is the amount of money that the council assesses will be needed to pay for your eligible support needs. The total amount of budget could include a contribution from you if you are required to make a payment after you have been assessed by the our financial assessment team under Lewisham’s Fairer Charging Policy.

You can choose how your personal budget is provided

It could be paid directly to you through direct payments so that you can organise your own support.
The council could arrange the service on your behalf.
You can choose a mixture of these with some of your support met through direct payments while other parts are arranged by us.

What can a personal budget be spent on?

A personal budget can be used to meet the outcomes identified in your support plan, for example some outcomes may be in relation to:

personal care
preparation of meals
daily living activities
support to take part in educational, leisure or social activities
short-term breaks for respite
purchasing items of equipment.

During your support planning you will identify the outcomes that are personal to you and work out the best way to spend your budget.

What are direct payments?

If you qualify for support from the council towards your care needs then you can choose to have a sum of money paid to you to buy services or equipment, rather than have the council arrange those services for you.

If you choose to have the money paid to you this is called a direct payment. The standard way in which direct payments are paid is through a prepaid card. The card is loaded every four weeks in advance.

Direct payments offer greater flexibility and control since it means that you can arrange your support in a way that best suits your needs and lifestyle. If for example you choose to employ someone directly, it means you can ask them to attend your home at a time that is convenient for you.

What responsibilities will I have with direct payments?

Direct payments offer a great deal of freedom but along with this comes some responsibility. If you choose to employ someone you will have certain obligations, such as:

making sure anyone you employ can legally work in the UK
registered with HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) for tax and national insurance purposes
arranging employers liability insurance.

Help with becoming an employer

We offer advice, information and support with:

knowing the law - for example wages, holiday entitlement, maternity leave
registering with HMRC and sourcing a payroll company
sorting out the employment contract
recruiting the right people
letting you know about Liability Insurance Options
managing the monitoring process of how the payments are spent.

Council-supported direct payments

If you are interested in direct payment, but would like help in administering the payment you have a council supported direct payment, sometimes called a managed account.

This is where you still have overall responsibility as the direct payment recipient, but the council will make payments on your behalf in accordance with your support plan. As we are making all payments, you will not have to complete any monitoring.

Managing the direct payment for myself or third party

Direct payments remain public funds which must be accounted for. The council have a responsibility to monitor the use of direct payments and will therefore require you to keep a record of how you spend the money to ensure that it is used to meet the agreed outcomes in your support plan.

You will need to keep records and receipts relating to all spending from the direct payments account and will be required to produce these on a monthly basis. The councils direct payments team can also help by showing you how to keep records when you start direct payments.

Even when someone has been using direct payments for a long time they can still get support, advice and guidance they need in managing their direct payments and complying with monitoring requirements.

Getting care in your own home - how much will it cost?

Assessing your finances

If you’re going to start getting care at home, we need to assess your finances.

After your needs assessment has been completed and the level of care you need to receive in your own home has been agreed, your social worker will ask you for a small amount of personal and financial details. They will pass this information on to our Financial Assessment Team.

Using this information and any other information we may have on file, our Financial Assessment Team might be able to tell you how much you will be charged for care without carrying out a full financial assessment.

If they need more information, they will need to contact you (or someone you have nominated

to act on your behalf) by telephone, to carry out a full financial assessment. This financial assessment will determine how much, if anything, you will have to contribute towards the cost of your care.

Providing us with documents for the financial assessment

During the financial assessment, the supporting documents that we will need to see depend on your circumstances. For example, if you have an occupational pension, we will need to see a supporting document that shows this.

We will need to see recent bank statements or your savings passbooks for all of the bank accounts you have, even if they are overdrawn. If we are missing any supporting documents following a financial assessment, we will tell you.

The fastest way to give us your information is to scan or take photos of the documents required and email them to financialassessment@lewisham.gov.uk.

Alternatively, you can send us copies of your documents via post to:

The Financial Assessment Team
4th floor, Laurence House
Catford
SE6 4RU

Please note: If you send us documents by post, please make sure you pay the correct postal charge otherwise your envelope may not be delivered.

How we work out what you will pay towards your care costs

The first thing that your charge depends on is your allowable capital. Your allowable capital includes finances, such as savings in a bank account, shares and premium bonds, but not your home (if you own it).

If your allowable capital is above £23,250, you will be charged the full cost of your care and an additional brokerage fee to cover the cost of arranging, monitoring and commissioning your care.

If your allowable capital is under £23,250, then we must take into account other factors. We will calculate your assessment using the sum below:

Your income, minus your income support/pension buffer, minus your disability-related expenditure will give us your net disposable income. We will charge you 100% of your net disposable income.

What these terms mean

Net disposable income

Your income, minus your income support/pension buffer, minus your disability related expenditure.

Income

Any eligible income that you have, including state benefits but not including the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or the Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

Income support buffer or pension credit buffer

A buffer, whether it is an income support buffer or pension credit buffer, is a part of your income that the Government has decided that you are allowed to keep. This is to make sure you have enough money to live if you have to pay for care at home. Your buffer is determined by your age and level of disability. The full list of buffers is very long, but the most common buffers (for single claimants) are listed in the table below:

Your age	Disability benefit received	Your buffer 2023/24
18-24	none	£84
18-24	higher rate disability living allowance (DLA) care	£158.25
25 to pensionable age	none	£106
25 to pensionable age	higher rate disability living allowance (DLA) care	£180.25
Pensionable age or older	none	£251.31

Disability-related expenditure

Disability-related expenditure (DRE) is the cost to you to meet your care needs. Most of these costs will have already been factored into the cost of your care (your support plan) in the initial needs assessment. However, it is possible that you may still be left with some other expenses, related to your disability. These costs can be put forward for consideration as DRE.

If you can provide receipts for these costs and adequately justify that these costs are related to your disability, we may be able to deduct these expenses from the overall cost of your care. To be successfully considered as DRE, any disability-related costs should:

be related to your agreed outcomes
be over and above what a non-disabled person of the same age would spend
be proven using receipts or bills
not be covered in your support plan.

There is no complete list of DRE. You may discuss and include any costs that are above the normal day-to-day costs of living, as long as they meet your outcomes. We make a judgement about whether these costs are disability related or a lifestyle choice.

Situations when DRE might be approved include:

having fuel costs that are higher than the average for your type of property – we will need to see a full year’s worth of gas or electricity bills to work out whether your fuel bills are higher than the regional average.
equipment – examples include wheelchairs or stair lifts. We will need to see details of the cost for any equipment and how long it is expected to last.
window cleaning – receipts will be needed for this type of expense to be considered.
metered water – it is possible that a disabled person may require extra water – for example, needing to do extra laundry because of incontinence. This will be allowed if the property is fitted with a water meter and you can give us evidence of the additional costs.
incontinence materials – such as pads, wipes and gloves to make sure that you are cared for safely.
cleaning and laundry materials – if you need more cleaning and laundry materials than average because of your disability (for example incontinence) then we need to see receipts and will discuss with you how we include these costs in your assessment.
domestic support – if you pay for support with any domestic tasks (outside of your support plan) and it is clear that you cannot undertake these tasks yourself, we may include this cost in your disability-related expenditure. We will need to see invoices for this work. If the costs are reasonable for the size of the property, we can discuss with you how these charges may be included in your assessment.
how you communicate with others – if you need extra equipment such as a specialist mobile phone or a braille typewriter to help you communicate with family, friend and carers, we will consider including these costs in your assessment.
live-in carer costs – additional costs to you having a live-in carer, such as electric, gas, heating and food, that are not covered in a support plan.

What if you do not want to tell us about your finances?

You do not have to give us your financial information. If you do not want a financial assessment, please get in touch with us. However, if you decide not to tell us about your finances, you will be charged the full cost of your care.

If you tell us you do not want a financial assessment, you can change your mind at any point and contact us for a financial assessment. This might happen if, for example, your capital was originally above the £23,250 limit, but has now dropped, meaning your charge for care might go down.

What if you do not agree with what you are being charged?

Assessment is a legal requirement and must be completed for anyone receiving services which are not funded fully by the NHS.

You will get a breakdown of your financial assessment, showing how we calculated your assessed charge.

If you do not agree with your charge, you can ask us to review the financial assessment by requesting this in writing. Please make your request by following the guidance on the feedback about care services page.

After complaining, until any further decisions are made you must continue to pay any invoices that arrive. If your charge goes down as a result of the review, you will get a retrospective refund.

What if there is a break in the care you get?

If you are not asked to pay towards your care, you will not be affected by a service break. However, if you receive a direct payment, we may ask for a refund of some of that payment if there is a break in your service.

If you are paying an assessed contribution or the full cost of your care, there may be a reduction in your charge if there is a service break.

To tell us about a break in service, please call us 020 8314 8454.

What if your financial circumstances change?

If there is a change in your financial circumstances (e.g. if your income changes or you have additional expenditure), you should report the change, along with any supporting evidence to our Financial Assessment Team.

You can send this information by email to financialassessment@lewisham.gov.uk. Alternatively, you can contact us by post at:

The Financial Assessment Team
4th floor, Laurence House
Catford
SE6 4RU

Even someone moving into your property can affect your state benefits, your financial circumstances and assessed contribution.

At least once a year, we will ask for updated information on your financial information. If you do not tell us of any changes in your circumstances when they occur, or very soon after, we may not be able to backdate a reduction to your charge.

Where can you get help or advice on dealing with your finances?

If you find yourself in debt or financial difficulty, or you could just benefit from advice, there are organisations available for help and advice.

Get more information about our charges

Legally, our charges must be in line with the Care Act 2014. You can read more about this in our adult social care charging and financial assessment framework policy.

Complaints, compliments and suggestions

You can make a complaint or give us feedback online.

Advice if you're buying care products or services

Can't find what you're looking for or worried about someone's safety? Contact our team .

Check the provider has a website and quality standard.
If you buy a service, such as a gardener or electrician, ask for evidence of their qualifications and professional registration.
Call the provider and have a chat to see how helpful they are. You should also check the costs, contract, terms and conditions and procedures they follow if you are unhappy with the service.
Shop around, speak to a number of providers and compare their costs and what they're offering.
Ask around: word of mouth can be a good source of information about the quality of services.
Ask about discounts providers could offer you.
If you're looking for a homecare service, ask them to send a copy of the latest inspection report, or check it yourself at CQC.org.uk.
Make a list of what you need and expect from a service and ask if the provider can meet your expectations.
Ask a family member, friend or neighbour to help you.
Do not pay up front and don't give out your bank details or sign any agreements until you are clear you want the service and are happy with the offer.

There are a number of useful websites that can offer you detailed information on consumer rights and how to choose a service.

Online resources

Independent financial advice

Budgeting and debt

Pensions

Pensions Advisory Service

Benefits

Access to finance

Claim a grant for buying a home
Grants and loans to help set up a business

Sensible shopping

Trading standards

Will you need to make a financial contribution towards the cost of your social care in your home?

they are only meant as guidelines - to work out the exact amount you’ll need to contribute, you will need a full financial assessment
if you do need to contribute towards the cost of your social care, your contributions will begin from the date your chargeable services start - this doesn’t include care provided by our reablement service
our reablement services work closely with people in their own homes to provide personal care and support needs - we give reablement care for up to six weeks; after the reablement six-week period, you will need to pay for any care you get

Living in a care home - how much will it cost you?

Assessing your finances

After your needs assessment has been completed and it has been agreed that you are going to move to a care home for residential care, your social worker will ask you for a small amount of personal and financial details. They will pass this information on to our Financial Assessment Team.

Using this information and any other information we have on file (for example, if you have had a recent financial assessment for non-residential care), our Financial Assessment Team might be able to tell you how much you will be charged for care without carrying out a full financial assessment.

If more information is required, they will need to contact you (or someone you have nominated to act on your behalf) by telephone, to carry out a full financial assessment. This financial assessment will determine how much you will have to contribute towards the cost of your care.

How we work out how much you will pay towards your care costs

Charging for residential accommodation is complicated and we can't explain all of the rules we need to follow when calculating your charges.

Legally, our charges must be in line with the Care Act 2014. You can read more about this in our adult social care charging and financial assessment framework policy.

Providing us with documents for the financial assessment

The fastest way to give us your information is to scan or take photos of the documents required and email them to financialassessment@lewisham.gov.uk.

Alternatively, you can send us copies of your documents via post to:

Financial Assessment Team
4th floor, Laurence House
Catford
SE6 4RU

Please note: If you send us documents by post, please ensure you pay the correct postal charge otherwise your envelope may not be delivered.

Your care costs depend on several factors

These factors include:

Allowable capital

Allowable capital includes things like savings in a bank account, shares and premium bonds – but not your home (if you own it).

Allowable income

Most income can be taken into account but there are some exemptions that we will apply, based on your circumstances.

Personal allowance

This is the money you are entitled to retain from your income and is determined by the Government. For the year 2016–17 the personal allowance is £24.90 per week.

Savings disregard

If you get savings credit as part of your pension credit, we can disregard up to £5.75 per week for single people and £8.60 per week for a couple from your income for the purposes of a financial assessment.

Tariff income charge

Only relevant if you have between £14,250 and £23,250 allowable capital, in which case: for every £250 above £14,250 you have in allowable capital, we add £1 to your allowable income for the purposes of the calculation. For example, if you have £15,000 in allowable capital, we will add £3 per week as income.

How do these factors determine what you pay?

If you have allowable capital of ...	your charge for care will normally be ...
less than £14,250	your allowable income minus personal allowance minus savings disregard.
between £14,250 and £23,250	your allowable income plus tariff income charge minus personal allowance minus savings disregard.
more than £23,250	the full (net) cost of care (minus any free nursing care provided by the NHS).

What to do if changes to your allowable capital falls below the upper limit

If your allowable capital is about to fall below the upper capital limit, currently set at £23,250, it is your responsibility to get in touch with us. If possible, it would be helpful to give us three months’ notice before this is going to happen.

If you do not get in touch with us and you continue to pay the full amount for your care, we will not be able to compensate you.

To get in touch, email us at financialassessment@lewisham.gov.uk or write to us at:

Financial Assessment Team
4th floor, Laurence House
Catford
SE6 4RU

How property ownership can affect how you pay for care

If you own your home, and if the property is to be included in your financial assessment, we will disregard the value of the property for the first 12 weeks. This is called the ‘12-week property disregard’.

After 12 weeks, the value of your property is added to your allowable capital. If, as is likely, your total capital at this point is above £23,250, you will be asked to pay for the full (net) cost of your residential care, until such time as your capital (which now includes your property) falls below £23,250.

There are certain circumstances in which we will not take your property into account for financial assessment purposes, such as when a spouse remains at home. At your financial assessment, we will ask you questions to work out whether one of the statutory disregards applies.

Deferred loans

If you own your home and have been told that it will be included in your financial assessment, you may be able to defer the sale of your property by applying for a deferred loan.

When the deferred loan comes to an end, you will be given 56 days to settle any outstanding charges, otherwise a higher rate of interest will begin to accrue. We charge interest at 4% above the Bank of England base rate from the 57th day that the debt remains owing until the day the debt is paid.

A deferred loan comes to an end if you sell the property, if you choose to end the agreement or when you pass away.

To be able to apply for a deferred loan, you must have the mental capacity to be able to enter into a legal agreement with us, or you must have someone with legal authority to do so on your behalf. By legal authority, we mean someone who holds a power of attorney or deputyship.

We apply other criteria when deciding whether to grant a deferred loan. If we have told you that we are taking your property into account in your financial assessment and you are interested in a deferred loan, our Financial Assessment Team can send you an application pack.

If you do not apply for, or do not qualify for, a deferred loan, you will be expected to sell your property to pay for your care, unless you have enough income or savings to cover the full (net) cost. We will normally ask you to make your own arrangements in these circumstances.

If you own your own property and are concerned about how we may treat it for financial assessment purposes, please seek independent legal advice.

How your choice of accommodation can affect the cost of care

You are entitled to choose to apply to any care home in England and Wales that meets your assessed needs.

Different rules apply for placements in Scotland but we can still help with your placement by working with a Scottish local authority.

However, we limit the weekly amount that we are prepared to pay towards your residential accommodation. If you choose to go into a home that costs more than we are prepared to pay, a third party (often a family member) will have to ‘top up’ your fees.

If a third party agrees to top up your care fees, they will have to give us their financial details for a financial assessment of their own. This is to check that the third party will be able to continue to meet the cost of the top-up to your care.

Following this, if all parties are satisfied with the arrangements, we will sign a contract with the third party (or with all of the third parties if you have more than one). The contract will oblige them to continue to pay the top-up for as long as it applies. If the third party fails to pay the top-up in full, we may move you into accommodation that is cheaper or pursue the debt through the courts.

Please note: if you choose a care home that is not set up to meet your assessed needs, we reserve the right to refuse to get involved with your placement. This means that you will have to pay for the full cost of your care (and normal financial assessment rules will not apply).

Giving away assets to avoid paying for your care

Giving away assets (or income), in order to avoid social care charges, is called deprivation. We have the power to overturn such transfers of ownership in most circumstances. You should seek independent legal advice before giving away or disposing of assets that have a marketable value, regardless of the reason behind the transfer.

We can also treat these assets (or income) as ‘notional’, meaning that we will include them in your financial assessment, even if you no longer have the asset (or income).

In some circumstances, we can ask whoever you have given your assets or income to to pay towards your accommodation from the assets or income you have given them.

How going into care might affect the benefits you get

We will give you relevant advice on your state benefits at the time of the financial assessment.

Some state benefits continue to be payable to people after they go into care, while others stop (usually after 28 days of you being in hospital or a care home). Although we can, and sometimes do, let the relevant authorities know of your change in circumstances, the responsibility is yours. Being admitted to hospital and moving into a care home are both changes in circumstances that need to be reported.

How to report changes of circumstances for benefits

Irrespective of which benefits you are claiming, you must report changes of your circumstances to the relevant agencies of the DWP.

Depending on which benefits you get, the numbers to call are:

jobseeker's allowance – 0845 603 6347
income support – 0845 608 8770
employment and support allowance – 0845 608 8770
incapacity benefit – 0845 608 8770
state pension and pension credit – 0845 606 0265.

For any other benefits, please call the benefit enquiry line on 0800 88 22 00 to find out more.

Failing to report a change of circumstances can result in an overpayment of benefit. If a benefit is overpaid because you have failed to report these changes, you will be asked to repay the benefit that has been paid in error.

Whenever you call a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) office, you will be asked security questions, such as your full name, National Insurance number, date of birth, the bank account your benefits are paid into, the type of benefits (and the amounts) that you receive. Please have these to hand before calling. The DWP may apply other security criteria, which may change without notice.

How going into care affects some of the specific benefits you might get

Attendance allowance and disability living allowance (care component)

If you get either of these two state benefits, your entitlement to the benefit will stop after 28 days of you being in a hospital or in care. This rule does not apply if you are paying for the full cost of your care home placement, in which case the benefit will continue to be paid. For queries related to either of these benefits, or to report a change in your circumstances, please ring the Disability and Carers Service (part of the DWP) on 08457 123 456.

Disability living allowance (mobility component)

You are entitled to keep income from disability living allowance (mobility component) no matter who is funding your care. The DWP does not stop paying it when you go into care and we do not include it when calculating your charge.

Important advice on personal independence payments (PIP)

The Government has announced that disability living allowance (DLA) is to stop for people aged 18–64. If you are affected by this, the DWP will write to you to invite you to claim personal independence payment (PIP), which will be replacing DLA.

Nobody will have an automatic right to PIP, even if they already have a lifetime award for DLA, because entitlement for PIP is different from DLA. All DLA claimants will have to apply for PIP when asked to do so. The introduction of PIP will not affect you if you are over 65, even if you are getting DLA.

Special circumstances that affect care charges

There are some groups of people who do not pay towards residential care.

Some people do not pay towards the cost of their residential care because we are not allowed to charge them. These circumstances are explained below:

Section 117

Clients who have been sectioned under the Mental Health Act 1983 may qualify for free after-care, which could include residential care. Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 states that councils are not to charge for any services provided as part of their after-care plan, which can include residential care.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease sufferers (or their partners)

Income or capital in a trust, resulting from payments to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease sufferers or their partners, are ignored for financial assessment purposes.

Clients who have no income or capital

We do have some clients who have no income and little or no capital. We usually cannot charge these clients for residential care until they have any income or capital available. We usually cannot charge these clients for residential care until they have any income or capital available.

Residents going into a care home, or their representatives, should always seek independent legal or financial advice if they are not sure of their rights and/or responsibilities.

How going into hospital could affect the cost of your care

If your placement is considered long term and you get admitted to hospital, you will continue to be charged for as long as you are in hospital, or for as long as we are paying to keep your room or bed available to you.

If you are unlikely to return to the same care home when you are discharged from hospital, it is your responsibility to clear your room in the care home, but please make sure you have spoken to your social worker before clearing your room. If you do not clear your room, the care home will continue to charge us for your room and, in turn, we will continue to charge you.

If your stay in hospital is likely to last longer than 12 weeks, your placement may be ended by us and a new placement arranged when you are ready to be discharged. Your social worker will discuss this with you if it applies.

Getting free and impartial advice

The following organisations offer free impartial advice and you are strongly advised to make full use of their expertise if you need it:

Age UK (formerly Age Concern and Help the Aged) 0800 169 6565.
Citizens Advice Bureau 08444 111 444 (note: call charges apply) Text relay: 08444 111 445
Elders First 020 8699 1177, Stanstead Lodge, 260 Stanstead Road, Forest Hill, London SE23 1DD
Lewisham Disability Coalition 020 8314 1414 info@ldcadvice.co.uk , 2 Catford Broadway, London, SE6 4SP
Mencap 0808 808 1111 help@mencap.org.uk

Most of the above organisations have local contact addresses. To obtain these addresses (if not already given), please call them.

What to do if you disagree with your charge

Assessment is a legal requirement and must be completed for anyone receiving services which are not funded fully by the NHS.

If you feel we have made an error in calculating your charge, please get in touch with our Financial Assessment Team and ask them to review the assessment.

You will need to state the specific error(s) with the financial assessment and why it is wrong and you may need to provide additional information or evidence when asked.

If you are still not happy with your charge (perhaps because of your circumstances), you can appeal by writing to the Financial Assessment Team by email at financialassessment@lewisham.gov.uk.

Alternatively, you can write by post to:

Financial Assessment Team
4th floor, Laurence House
Catford
SE6 4RU

Please note, we normally like to ensure a review of your assessment is conducted before an appeal will be arranged. If you make an appeal before asking for a review, we may review your assessment instead. If this happens and you are still unhappy with your charge, you can request another appeal.

Complaints, compliments and suggestions

You can make a complaint or give us feedback online.

Pay for care

Direct Debit

Direct Debit is the safest and easiest way to pay. It allows your payment to be automatically collected from your bank account on a specified date each month.

Print and complete our direct debit form and use your customer account number or invoice number as the reference.

Please post it to:
London Borough of Lewisham, Director of Resources, Core Accounting Team, 4th Floor, Laurence House Catford, London SE6 4RU

Or contact Adult Social Care Collections to request a copy through the post asccollections@lewisham.gov.uk.

Pay with your bank

You can pay your invoice with your bank by:

standing order (a regular payment)
electronic transfer (BACS)
taking the invoice to your bank (they may charge you for this service)

A standing order is an instruction from you to your bank or building society, authorising them to regularly pay a fixed amount to an organisation. If the amount you owe changes, it's your responsibility to make the change with your bank.

In your instruction to your bank, please include our payment details:

Barclays Bank Plc, 1 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HP
Sort Code: 20 00 00
Account Number: 93380513
Your invoice number as the reference (10 digits starting with 315 or 415)

If a standing order – the date and frequency of payment (we invoice 4 weekly)

When paying electronically please send a remittance advice quoting the invoice number(s) to:

Lewisham Council Financial Transactions Team
3rd Floor, Laurence House
Catford Catford London London SE6 4RU

or email: cashcontrolteam@lewisham.gov.uk

Please allow five working days for the payment to reach us.

Pay by Phone

You can pay your invoice by debit or credit card by using our payment telephone line 020 8690 8707. This is an automated payment line – please have your debit or credit card details ready and your invoice number (10 digits starting with 315 or 415)

Post Office

You can pay your invoice at any Post Office with cash, by debit card or by cheque.

Cheques should be made payable to Post Office Ltd. At the Post Office they will scan the barcode on the front of your invoice and ask you the amount you want to pay. Please give the amount stated on your invoice. You should obtain a receipt for your records.

Find your nearest Post Office.

Please allow three working days for the payment to reach us.

PayPoint

You can pay off invoices (in cash) by taking them to anywhere that displays the PayPoint sign.

At the PayPoint, they will scan the barcode on the front of your invoice and ask you the amount you want to pay. Please give the amount stated on your invoice.

Find your nearest PayPoint.

Please allow three working days for the payment to reach us.

If you don’t pay your invoice

If you don’t pay your invoice in full, we will take action to recover the amount you owe.

To avoid this, contact the Adult Social Care Collections Team.

To recover payment for adult social care invoices, further action can include, but is not limited to:

county court judgement: this could severely affect your credit rating and may affect your ability to get loans, including mortgages, credit cards, store cards and increases in credit limits, which will result in further costs to you. Legal costs will be added to your debt and we may also charge interest.
third party debt order: this prevents you from taking money out of your bank/building society account until the debt has been settled.
charging order: this prevents you from selling assets such as property, investments or land, without paying what is owed; we can also apply to the court for an order allowing the forced sale of property once a charging order is agreed. This is a legal action, which means costs and interest will be added to your debt.

Cost of Living

If you have money worries, please see our Cost of Living advice.

Pay for care through a deferred payment scheme

If you need to pay for your care but can't access all your money (for example, because it is tied up in a property you own) then a deferred payment agreement might be the right option for you.

Deferred payments have been introduced nationally as part of the Care Act and mean that people should not have to sell their homes to pay for their care, as they have sometimes had to do in the past.

With a deferred payment agreement we pay an agreed part of your weekly care and support bill for as long as necessary. You also pay a weekly contribution towards your care – that you have been assessed as being able to pay – from your income and other savings.

You can delay repaying us until you choose to sell your home, or until after your death.

How to find out if you are eligible for a deferred payment agreement

Deferred payment agreements will suit some people’s circumstances better than others and not everyone will be eligible. You should be eligible for a deferred payment agreement if you:

are receiving care in a care home (or you are going to move into one soon)
own your own home (unless your partner or certain others live there)
have savings and investments of less than £23,250 (not including the value of your home or your pension pot).

Deferred payments calculator

Use this calculator to give you an indication to whether you would be eligible to apply for a deferred payment and the amount you may receive. We recommend using the calculator using modern browser (IE9+, Chrome, Firefox, Safari). The calculator does not replace our financial assessment.

When to repay a deferred payment agreement

You have the option to sell your home and pay us back at any point. Or you can have a deferred payment agreement for the full length of your stay in a care home and pay it back out of your estate, following your death.

The amount you can defer by having a deferred payment agreement

The amount you can defer will depend on the value of your home, which determines your equity limit. As a guide, most people can use 80% to 90% of the equity available in their home.

The limit on equity is to protect you from not having enough money to pay for the costs of selling the property (like solicitor fees) and to protect us against a drop in housing prices and the risk that it may not get all the money back.

Applying for a deferred payment agreement if your spouse or civil partner lives in your house

If you need to move into a care home but your partner lives in your home then we will consider your partner’s circumstances as well as your own.

Provided your partner lives in your home as their main or only home, and you are not estranged or divorced, then we will exclude the value of your home when it assesses your finances to work out how much you will have to pay for care and will not need a deferred payment agreement.

If you and another person part-own your property (and is disregarded) and you would otherwise be eligible for a deferred payment, we can consider a deferred payment.

Published on: 23/05/2025