Your Care: Financial assessments
You may have to pay some money towards the cost of Care and Support services that you receive. This can include home care, day care or residential care services.
To find out how much you have to pay towards your care and support Newcastle City Council will carry out a financial assessment.
What is a Financial Assessment?
A financial assessment is used to work out how much you have to contribute towards your Personal Budget to pay for your care and support.
The assessment is usually carried out after your care and support needs have been identified by a Needs assessment.
Who carries out a Financial assessment?
The assessment is carried out by a Financial Assessment Officer. This will normally involve a visit to you in your home when you will be asked for information about your current financial circumstances.
It is free to have a financial assessment.
What do they need to know?
You will need to provide details of your
- Income: This is money you have coming in, such as benefits and pensions.
- Spending: This is the amount you spend on council tax, rent, and mortgage.
- Capital: This is the amount of savings that you have or the value of your property.
Do I have to have a Financial assessment?
You can ‘opt out’ of the financial assessment. If you choose not to have an assessment , you will be charged the full cost of the services you receive, regardless of your financial position.
Visit paying for care by Newcastle City Council for more information on the costs of care and support.
How to apply for a Financial Assessment
Contact Community Health & Social Care Direct to request an assessment. You will be asked to give details of your financial circumstances. This will include details of your income, outgoings, and capital.
What if I’m not eligible for help?
If you don’t qualify for financial help from Newcastle City Council the information from your assessments will still be useful. Other organisations will be able to take it into account when they discuss your needs with you..
You can arrange your own care and support privately if you prefer. There are a number of organisations who can help you to plan this or offer private care services such as;
Other Useful Information
- Paying for Care and Support at home – Age UK’s factsheet
- Paying for Long Term Care in England – a factsheet developed by various organisations and charity work to find out how much your average care home/nursing fees could be and find out if the state is likely to help you fund your care
- You can contact specialist care fees advisers for personal financial advice, support and information.
- PayingForCare has an online residential care calculator where you can find out how much you may need to pay for your care. You may find the BBC Care Calculator is a useful interactive guide to help you understand more about the way care works, what you need to think about and how much you may have to pay.
- Legal & General now offer help to find and fund care.
The Council has provided the Legal & General links for information purposes only. Please note that the Council neither recommends nor endorses any products or services accessed via these links. For full details, please see their website advertising statement.
Last updated: July 22, 2022