How to pay for Adult Social Care

If you are receiving a direct payment you will need to pay your contribution into your direct payment account monthly. A Direct Payment is money given to you by your local authority to help meet your social care needs. These needs will have been agreed between you and your social worker. It can help you reach your outcomes following the completion of a Social Care Assessment or review by your social worker.

You may be able to get a Direct Payment if:

• you get care and support from Adult Social Care
• a Direct Payment is able to help you with your needs
• someone can manage the payment (yourself or someone that you have chosen)

Direct Payments can be paid directly to you (or to your nominated/authorised person) but must be in a separate bank account used only for the direct payment.

Alternatively, it can be paid to the City Corporation’s Direct Payment Service so that it can be managed for you.

Your contributions are paid by us and you will be invoiced for this monthly. Details of how to pay are on the back of the invoice.

If care is being funded by a deferred payment arrangement then the cost of care is added to the amount owed. If you receive Telecare that does not form part of a personal budget you will be billed monthly for your contribution. Depending on your savings and regular income, there are a number of ways you may be able to cover your care costs by off-setting them against the value of your home.

A Deferred Payment Agreement is an arrangement with the City Corporation enabling people to use the value of their home to help pay care home costs. If you are eligible, the City Corporation will help to pay your care home bills on your behalf. You can delay repaying the City Corporation until you choose to sell your home, or until after your death.

You may be able to get a Deferred Payment Agreement if:

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

The City Corporation charges interest on the amount owed for your care and charges an administration fee of £500 for setting up a Deferred Payment Agreement.

A Deferred Payment Agreement is not the only option for paying for your care. You should speak to City Advice before making any decisions.

We will work with you to identify a residential or nursing home to meet your needs, however you may wish to choose a home which is more expensive, in such cases someone else must pay the difference, known as the ‘top-up’. This means that you can still move into the home that you have chosen if someone agrees to continue to pay the top-up for you. However please consider this option carefully in case the third party’s financial situation changes. If you have a deferred payment agreement, the cost of the top-up will be added to the deferred amount owed to us. The person paying the top up must be willing and able to meet the additional cost and will enter into an agreement with us, agreeing to meet that cost. The top-up will be invoiced monthly and ways to pay are stated on the back of the invoice.