"I need more information about funding my own care."
We know it’s important to keep your independence and stay living in your own home for as long as possible.
We’ve put together some great advice, along with details of many services and support groups that can help you with this.
If the result of your financial assessment is that you must pay the full cost of your residential care but you cannot afford to pay the full weekly charge due to your capital being tied up in your property, this doesn’t mean you have to sell your home. You could ask us for a deferred payment agreement.
A deferred payment agreement is a type of loan that property owners can use to pay for their care or nursing home.
You are not given a lump sum upfront, instead we pay the part of your residential care bills that you can not afford and charge you interest on that amount.
You’ll use your house as security and we’ll make a legal charge against it - this guarantees we’ll be repaid any money due to us when you sell your property.
You do not have to sell it in your lifetime, you can choose for it to be sold after you have died. You can also repay us from another source if you want to.
Before securing any loans against your home, it is important to think carefully and get financial advice.
Please note: you will still be responsible for paying the weekly contribution that you have been assessed as being able to pay from your income and other savings.
You will be charged:
Please note: interest is calculated daily, based on an interest rate set by the government. It is reviewed twice a year on 1 January and 1 July.
To qualify for a loan, you must:
If your partner is in a care home too
If you jointly own your property, and both you and your partner are permanently in a care home, you may both apply for a separate deferred payment agreement.
Your agreement will be based on just your share of your home, but there must be enough value in your home to cover the care costs of both you and your partner.
Mortgages, loans and equity release on your home
If you have other outstanding loans, mortgages or equity release schemes on your home, it is unlikely we can offer you a deferred payment agreement.
If you qualify to use the deferred payment scheme, this option will be discussed with you during your financial assessment appointment.
Please note: if you have a legal representative, for example a power of attorney or deputy, they should also be present at your financial assessment.
Once the application has been completed, and all relevant proofs supplied, our legal department will place a legal charge on your property. Please be aware that this process can take some time.
When the legal charge is in place, we will get in touch with you, or your legal representative (where relevant), to ask you to complete any remaining paperwork and advise of the next steps.
We understand that maintaining a property costs money, even if you are not living in it. We’ll take this into account when we decide how much you must pay towards your care costs. We do this by setting your contribution at a level that allows you to keep a minimum amount of income each week. This is called disposable income allowance and is set at £144 a week.
This allowance gives you enough money to pay for:
You can choose to contribute more towards the cost of your care and keep less than £144 a week if you prefer. This would reduce the amount of money you borrow from us. If an unexpected expense occurs, you can increase the amount you keep up to £144 at any time.
You may rent your property while having a deferred payment agreement as long as you use any rental income to pay towards your care home fees. This will mean you borrow less money from us. You must notify us if you plan to rent your property.
You can get in touch by either of the following methods and leave your details:
You can end the loan agreement at any time by either:
Otherwise the agreement will end when you die. Interest will continue to accrue until the debt is paid in full from your estate.