Care Home Funding questions

[Koolforkats]

DF needs to move to a care home so we are in the process of viewing. The prices vary by £500 per week in the homes we’ve viewed.

I wondered what happens about Attendance Allowance during the period that we would be self-funding? This is currently the higher needs level. Would this continue?

My worry about looking at higher costing homes, especially ones with a fixed price for all residents, is what happens if we get to a stage where our funding falls below the threshold for help with care costs. Would the Attendance Allowance stop then? Would the LA’s financial assessment take into account all of DF’s income (state and private pension) and then contribute to an agreed maximum amount? Im thinking if this was the case and there was a shortfall us as a family would need to pay the difference? Is this correct?

If a person is totally self funding then they can still claim AA towards the fees.
Once they fall below the savings threshold (£23k approx) then they will be classed as partial funders and the LA will contribute up to an agreed amount. At this point, AA would cease. If the home they are in is more expensive then the choice can be for relatives to top up the fees. All their income is taken into account - less a weekly personal allowance of around £30. So if their pensions total £400 a week, they’d pay £370 per week and the LA top up to whatever their max contribution is. (My stepfathers LA paid a top up to fees of £750 per week, he contributed £175 pw, LA contributed £625. He was in a LA care home). If he was in a more expensive one, say £1000 a week, we would have had to top up the additional £250 pw. It’s a very expensive commitment!
In addition, if the person owns their own home then they would be expected to sell it in order to pay for care if their income was not enough.

Thank you! That’s really helpful breakdown. Appreciate the response.

Whilst running out of money is obviously a concern, remember as needs rise you can also seek funding through nhs continuing care. It’s all very confusing at the beginning but as you work through the system you quickly work it out. The key thing though when looking at care homes is to look past shiny new buildings and fancy decor, instead ask about staff turnover, how often there is nurse cover in the building, does the gp visit without too much hassle, visiting hours etc. the place we ended up using didn’t look modern (think painted wood chip walls and artex ceilings, pictures sun faded but all clean) however it was family owned, staff were long standing (cook 30 years!) and they had no set visiting hours, really important if there’s a partner of the person still alive, oh and they gave the partners meals if there’s at meal times for no extra cost (he ended up moving in too as the room was big enough for a second bed and they charged just £250 a week as no care actually needed!)