Care Homes Fees: Additional charges third party (top-up) payments

[Horsemad]

Some independent care homes charge fees which are higher than the usual amount that Social Services can contribute.

'If Social Services is contributing towards your care home fees, and you choose to move into a home which charges a higher fee, the difference between the two amounts is paid by a third party, usually a relative. Third party payments are sometimes referred to as 'top up' payments.'

Does anyone know why the person whose savings have fallen to the limit & is now being funded by Social Services is not allowed to use the remainder of their savings to top up the difference between the SS amount & the care home fee?

It's unusual to find a care home costing less than £1K a week, so inevitably most people are going to be placed somewhere requiring a top up. If the person in the care home can't contribute from their remaining savings, then it's a big ask for their spouse/children to contribute to the tune of £300-500/week, isn't it? 🤔

Are they really not allowed or is it just that they can't be made to pay it once savings drop to a certain level? So the top up comes from somewhere whether their own account or a relative's?

Wonder how often this happens? I don't know many people who could afford those kinds of sums along with mortgage etc.

Does anyone know why the person whose savings have fallen to the limit & is now being funded by Social Services is not allowed to use the remainder of their savings to top up the difference between the SS amount & the care home fee? It’s because their contribution is set at the maximum they are considered able to pay and therefore they are not able to pay more. And it wouldn’t look good politically to say you could have every last penny taken off you.

It's unusual to find a care home costing less than £1K a week, so inevitably most people are going to be placed somewhere requiring a top up. Firstly, they won’t be placed somewhere requiring a top up. But if you insist your Mum is placed in a more expensive home, or continues in her expensive home instead of moving to one the LA can afford, you will need to pay the difference. Secondly, if the care home is charging £1000 a week to self funders, it will be charging the LA only £750.

There are no homes in our area charging less than £1100/week & few vacancies either. Most are £1300 upwards.
I don't want to have to move her more than once, so don't want to be in the situation of having to move her because of fees.

I'd heard about the difference in charges to self funders versus LA totally immoral too, imo.

I don't want to have to move her more than once, so don't want to be in the situation of having to move her because of fees.

Just putting it out there , OP, that while you wouldn't want to move her more than once, it is not necessarily the worst thing you could do.
DM and MIL both got moved twice for pretty unforeseen reasons in all cases and they both 'managed'.