Care home fees and dc pension

SouthCoastBoy

Does anybody know the rules for funding care home fees when you only have a dc pension, e.g how much can the govt expect you to contribute?

elsien

Generally speaking your income is all taken into account (if it’s below the weekly fee amount), leaving you with the £25 personal allowance a week. Presuming you don’t have a level of assets that would make you a self funder. 

SouthCoastBoy

elsien said:

Generally speaking your income is all taken into account (if it’s below the weekly fee amount), leaving you with the £25 personal allowance a week. Presuming you don’t have a level of assets that would make you a self funder. 

But if you have a dc pension you could decide to have only the state pension income. I am assuming there is a defined rule

elsien

There is a degree of discretion between local authorities, so not necessarily any hard and fast rule. 

This covers the basics.

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/factsheets/fs10_paying_for_permanent_residential_care_fcs.pdf

noitsnotme

Would you really want to subject yourself to whatever local authority run poop-hole they might shove you in rather than use your pension to choose a better home?

Both my grandmothers ended up in care homes.  One had money and lived in a fantastic home.  The other had nothing except state pension and ended up in a horrible home.  Unfortunately my parents couldn’t afford to help her move to anywhere better.

SouthCoastBoy

noitsnotme said:

Would you really want to subject yourself to whatever local authority run poop-hole they might shove you in rather than use your pension to choose a better home?

Both my grandmothers ended up in care homes.  One had money and lived in a fantastic home.  The other had nothing except state pension and ended up in a horrible home.  Unfortunately my parents couldn’t afford to help her move to anywhere better.

In short yes. 2 of my grandparents were in the same home. One govt funded the other privately funded. My mum was also in a home she privately funded but many were la funded.

Also you can decline the first couple of choices if you don't think they are suitable. 

noitsnotme

SouthCoastBoy said:

noitsnotme said:

Would you really want to subject yourself to whatever local authority run poop-hole they might shove you in rather than use your pension to choose a better home?

Both my grandmothers ended up in care homes.  One had money and lived in a fantastic home.  The other had nothing except state pension and ended up in a horrible home.  Unfortunately my parents couldn’t afford to help her move to anywhere better.

In short yes. 2 of my grandparents were in the same home. One govt funded the other privately funded. My mum was also in a home she privately funded but many were lea funded.

You can’t guarantee to end up being so lucky though.  If it comes down to it I’d rather make my own choices and spend my pension on my own care.  If the kids are lucky I won’t be in there for long (or at all) and they’ll have something left.

elsien

SouthCoastBoy said:

noitsnotme said:

Would you really want to subject yourself to whatever local authority run poop-hole they might shove you in rather than use your pension to choose a better home?

Both my grandmothers ended up in care homes.  One had money and lived in a fantastic home.  The other had nothing except state pension and ended up in a horrible home.  Unfortunately my parents couldn’t afford to help her move to anywhere better.

In short yes. 2 of my grandparents were in the same home. One govt funded the other privately funded. My mum was also in a home she privately funded but many were lea funded.

Also you can decline the first couple of choices if you don't think they are suitable. 

Much less likely nowadays when lots of care homes are closing and there is much more limited choice within the rate that the local authority will pay. 

noitsnotme

The home my grandmother was able to choose due to having her own money didn’t take LA funded residents.  It was quite small with only around 20 residents and was a fantastic environment with amazing staff.  There was very little money left for my father after she passed but he didn’t care as she lived out her last few years in relative luxury compared to my other grandmother.

elsien

There are very few local authority run homes nowadays. Most of them have closed or been transferred over to private providers to run. 

And you are right some of them do take self/funded and local authority paid for residents. They do tend to be at the cheaper end of the market, for obvious reasons. My grandmother was a self-funder in one of these and it was absolutely awful, to the point I went to the authorities about it. 

It can also mean the difference between the tiny attic room up in the gods or a bigger ensuite in a nice part of the home. And although it’s now much more frowned upon, local authority residents in some places were more likely to be put in shared rooms.
In other places, there is little difference. 

You pay your money (or more likely don’t) and take your chances. 

Aside from the physical environment, a good place can go bad with a change of manager and vice versa, but it’s easier to make a place good if you’re not running on a shoe string. Although the care home I complain most about in my job is the one at the top end of the price range for my area.

For me, though an important factor would be the extras that money can buy. Being able to pay someone to take me out if it’s not something staff will do, for example. You’d be surprised how many places are run on a minimum staffing level where even supporting someone down to the local shop is next to impossible.

Marcon

See https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/family-and-care/long-term-care/how-your-pensions-can-affect-social-care-costs