Elderly aunty,

lyndac40

Not sure if this is in the correct forum if not could some one please point me in the right direction.

Hi looking for advice about my elderly Aunty. She is 92 years old and unfortunately unable to look after herself in her sheltered housing flat anymore. She has been in hospital since July. We are looking at nursing homes for her at the moment. Her financial situation is at the moment she has 2 private pensions one from herself and one from her late Husband she does not receive any benefits except attendance allowance which has now stopped as she has been in hospital so long.

So my question is I know if she goes into a nursing home they will take all her money and give her £28.00 a week, But how much saving is she allowed to have she has got £14 thousand pound in her bank account just now but this is climbing as she has not needed any money while she has been in hospital.

Thanks in advance for any reply's

Lynda xxx

Mojisola

AgeUK is a useful source of information -
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Factsheets/FS10_Paying_for_permanent_residential_care_fcs.pdf?dtrk=true

cte1111

If your Aunty has more than £14,250 but less than £23,250, then she will be expected to pay some of her care costs. Once her assets then drop below the lower limit, her care should be fully funded (up to the local authority's limit).

Here's a factsheet from Age Uk, which should help explain:
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Factsheets/FS10_Paying_for_permanent_residential_care_fcs.pdf?dtrk=true

I'm presuming that she doesn't own her flat.

You will need to ask the council to do a financial assessment, you / your Aunty will need up to date statements for all her bank accounts and pensions for this.

lyndac40

Hi cte1111, Mojisola,

Thank you for u quick reply's. There is no property involved she had a council house before going into sheltered housing. I will look at the ageuk documents.

Thank you for the link.

Lynda x

monkeyspanner

Pease note if self funding your aunt should be able to have her attendance allowance restarted on discharge from hospital.

Mojisola

monkeyspanner wrote: »

Pease note if self funding your aunt should be able to have her attendance allowance restarted on discharge from hospital.

And, if she needs residential care, she'll probably be able to get it at the higher rate.

lyndac40

hi Mojisola and monkeyspanner,

Wont they just take AA back of her to go towards her care. I have read through the fact sheet I am confused as to how it works, If she has between £14,250 and £23,250 does this mean that they will take pound for pound of her or is a pound for every £250 over that amount and if she had under £14.000 they wont touch her savings is this correct or do I have it all wrong.

thanks again lynda x

Mojisola

lyndac40 wrote: »

Wont they just take AA back of her to go towards her care. I have read through the fact sheet I am confused as to how it works, If she has between £14,250 and £23,250 does this mean that they will take pound for pound of her or is a pound for every £250 over that amount and if she had under £14.000 they wont touch her savings is this correct or do I have it all wrong.

If you are fully funding yourself, you can claim AA (and maybe Pension Credit). You pay the fees out of your income and capital.

If you are fully funded by the LA, they take all your income apart from the £20+ pocket money you get to keep.

If you're in that half-and-half position, they take the income as above but also expect you to contribute £1 for every £250 you have over £14,250 until your capital reduces to that level.

My Dad wasn't in that position so someone else may be able to give more details as to how it works.

lyndac40

Hi majisola,

As far as i know she will be fully funded by the LA. She does not get pension credits because her 2 private pensions that she gets take her over the limit for PC.

I think I have it now thanks, Just one more question for you if you dont mind. If I took say £3000 out of her account and paid for her funeral would that be seen as deprivation of capital if that's what u call it.

thanks again lynda x

Mojisola

lyndac40 wrote: »

As far as i know she will be fully funded by the LA. She does not get pension credits because her 2 private pensions that she gets take her over the limit for PC.

I think I have it now thanks, Just one more question for you if you dont mind. If I took say £3000 out of her account and paid for her funeral would that be seen as deprivation of capital if that's what u call it.

I think it's been said on other threads that paying for a funeral plan is usually considered a legitimate expense but I wouldn't risk doing it at this stage without getting that in writing.

Deprivation of capital is all about doing something with the intention of reducing capital so that you become entitled to benefits that you wouldn't have otherwise. As the move to a care home is already planned, the LA may not look kindly on money going out of her account.

If you do go ahead and they aren't happy, they would assess her as still having that money and will charge her accordingly.

She will benefit from having a funeral plan paid upfront which may save money in the long run so it might still be worth it.

lyndac40

Hi majisola,

Thanks for that I will get in touch with the LA before I do it just to make sure its ok. The money that she had isnt going to go down so she would have enough to pay for a funeral. She has made a will but not sure how it is set out.

I am not sure how long it is going to take to find a suitable nursing home so her money just now is climbing up quickly.

thanks again for your advice x