Paying for care
If your care needs assessment has identified that non-residential or residential care is the best way to meet your needs, we may ask you to pay a contribution towards the cost.
Financial assessment
When you have been identified as requiring a care assessment, we will offer to complete a financial assessment to work out how much of the cost of your care we can cover, and how much your financial contribution will be.
What is a financial assessment?
A financial assessment (or means test) determines if we will help pay towards your cost of care, by looking at your finances. We can also help you apply for benefits to increase your income.
A financial assessment officer will carry out the calculation, in accordance with the Care Act 2014 (opens new window) legislation and statutory guidance.
If you have less than £23,250 in capital, you may be eligible for financial support.
The assessment is free and can be done online, usually after you have received a care needs assessment from the council's adult social care team.
You will not be eligible for financial support if you choose to arrange your care privately, do not complete a financial assessment, or do not provide us with all the information we need.
Steps to apply
- Apply for adult social care.
- After applying for social care, complete the online financial assessment form (link below) and provide evidence of your finances.
What we will consider during the assessment
- Capital (bank accounts, savings, investments, property, and business assets)
- Income (state pension, private pensions, and state benefits)
- Property (details about your home and who lives with you)
- Housing costs (bills and expenses)
- Disability-related expenses (for non-residential care only)
- Disposed assets (any money or property you have given away)
Important: Employed and self-employed earnings are not considered. Reducing your wealth on purpose may disqualify you from financial assistance.
Submit a financial assessment
Before you submit a financial assessment, please ensure you have all relevant income and capital details about the 'cared for' person.
Please note: There is no functionality to save and return to the calculator once your session has started. Further details on the information you will need to gather can be found in the 'find out more' section on the link below.
Complete an online financial assessment form
If you're unable to complete an online financial assessment, you can download a copy of the financial assessment form (PDF) [183KB] and post to, Financial Assessment Team, Hillingdon Council, 4W/09 Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge, UB8 1UW.
After completing your financial assessment
Once your details have been verified by our financial assessment team, you will receive a financial assessment outcome letter. The letter will detail how much you are likely to have to contribute towards the cost of your care and support needs, if the council's adult social care team arrange a package of care for you.
What happens if I don't want to provide information about my income and capital?
If you do not want to engage with the financial assessment process and we are unable to carry out a means-tested financial assessment for you, we may have to charge you for the full cost of your care. This means that you could be charged more than you can afford to pay.
A financial assessment will ensure that you are charged correctly for your care, so it's important that you co-operate with the process.
During the financial assessment process, we can identify if you are receiving all the benefits that you are entitled to. If you are not, we can provide advice and help you apply for benefits, which may increase your income.
Need help?
You can have a friend, relative or other representative to help you complete your financial assessment. If you need further help in preparing for your financial assessment, please ensure you contact the financial assessment team as soon as possible.
How can you prepare?
- Ensure you can obtain and complete the finance form - or that you have a suitable representative who can do this for you.
- We recommend that you use the online finance form, as this is the quickest way of submitting your information to our financial assessment team.
- Gather supporting documents about your income and capital, eg recent letters about your state benefits and/or pensions and bank statements.
- We will usually ask for evidence of your capital covering the 3 months before the start date of your care package. However, we can ask for evidence dating back further than 3 months.
- If you are declaring any disability-related expenditure, receipts for the expenditure covering a 3-month period will be required.
- If you are declaring expenditure relating to utility costs, we will require your utility bills covering the last 12 months.
- If you need any assistance in preparing for your financial assessment, please ensure you contact our financial assessment team as soon as possible.
What types of care are available?
Care and support at home
- Non-residential care - can include care delivered to you in your home, in a day centre or through a supported living or extra-care setting.
Find out more about care and support at home
Care and nursing homes
- Residential care homes - help with washing, dressing, going to the toilet, and taking medication.
- Nursing care homes - provide personal care and have qualified nurses on duty at all times. Suitable for those needing frequent medical attention.
Find out more about care and nursing homes
Can I choose a more expensive care home?
If you are eligible to receive help from us with paying for care home fees, and it has been agreed that a place in one of our contracted homes will not meet your needs, we will help you find somewhere more suitable.
If you choose a home that costs more than the amount the council can pay, a third party can agree to pay the difference. This extra cost is in addition to your client contribution and is referred to as a 'third party top-up'. The top-up must be paid directly to the home by someone other than the person receiving the care.
Reporting a change in your circumstances
If you are an existing client and a financial assessment has already been carried out for you, any changes in your circumstances must be reported to our financial assessment team as soon as possible.
Update your financial information
Information about benefits
Our benefits calculator will help you find out what benefits you can claim.