Adult social care isn’t free – you are expected to pay for the care and support you receive at home or in the community.
However, you may be entitled to financial support from the Council to help towards some or all of your care costs. How much help you get with costs depends on your financial situation.
We will carry out a financial assessment to work out the most you could afford to pay each week towards:
If you have savings, investments and capital over £23,250 you won’t be eligible for financial support from the Council and you must pay the full cost of your care and support.
Your social care worker will:
Your financial assessment is a way of looking at your capital assets (such as savings and investments), income, expenses and an allowance for everyday living costs (Minimum Income Guarantee) to work out the most you could afford to pay each week using rules set out in our Care and Support Financial Assessment Policy (see Financial Assessment and Charging for non-residential care)
You won’t be eligible for financial support from the Council.
We will carry out a “light touch” financial assessment and write to you to confirm that you must pay the full cost of your care and support. Charges apply from the date your services start.
You may be entitled to ‘Attendance Allowance’ or ‘Personal Independence Payment’ – from the Department for Work and Pensions – see Useful Contacts in this factsheet.
You can ask us to arrange and manage your care and support services for you – but we will charge a set up fee (£338.30) and an annual administration charge (£278.20) to cover our costs. Charges are correct for the year April 2023 – March 2024 and are reviewed annually.
We can also:
If we can complete your financial assessment from information held by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) or information we hold in relation to a Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support claim for you we will write to tell you your Assessed Maximum Weekly Contribution for care and support.
If we need information from you (or your financial representative) to complete your financial assessment with you we will usually do this over the phone.
You will need to gather your financial information together to prepare for this. See our Income, Savings and Expenses Checklist and Disability-related Expenses Guide.
If you need help with your financial assessment talk to your social care worker.
Age UK Berkshire, Age UK Reading, Communicare and Reading Mencap are local voluntary organisations who can offer independent support and advice with financial assessments. See ‘Useful contacts’.
When we contact you we will:
If you can’t complete your financial assessment over the phone and you don’t have a financial representative to complete a financial assessment on your behalf we may arrange to visit you at home.
You only need to provide details about your own financial situation, including:
You and your partner can ask us to carry out an ‘affordability check’ to ensure that the allowance for everyday living costs in your financial assessment is sufficient to maintain your joint financial resources above DWP minimum benefit levels.
See Financial Assessment and Charging for non-residential care and support for more details
As a part of your financial assessment we will check you are getting all the welfare benefits you are entitled to and advise you how to claim (online or by phone). We can provide/arrange support with claims – if you need this help.
You may be entitled to ‘Attendance Allowance’ or ‘Personal Independence Payment’ – from the Department for Work and Pensions – see Useful Contacts in this guide.
We expect you to apply for all the benefits you are entitled to. If you don’t we can count the amount we believe you would get as ‘notional’ income in your financial assessment.
We will tell you how your new benefits claim could affect your Assessed Maximum Weekly Contribution.
We will apply a light touch assessment if you (or your financial representative):
You will be assessed to pay the full cost of your care and support, backdated to the date your services started.
The rules are detailed but the calculation below gives a general overview. Please note: we convert all income and expenses to weekly values for these calculations.
A ‘Tariff Income’ on savings and investments plus income
less Disregarded income (earnings, mobility component of DLA/PIP, war pensions)
less Home and other expenses (rent/mortgage, Council Tax)
less Disability Related Expenses
less ‘Minimum Income Guarantee’ for basic living costs
= Assessed Maximum Weekly Contribution
This is a weekly amount calculated from savings and investments that are not disregarded. The tariff income is added to your weekly income in your financial assessment.
If you receive Attendance Allowance, Personal Independence Payment or Disability Living Allowance we make a standard allowance of £5.70 per week for additional expenses relating to your medical condition or disability.
If you pay for special products or services for your medical condition or disability and feel your costs are more than this you can complete a detailed DRE Assessment which considers costs for alarm services, practical help, disability equipment, extra heating costs, additional laundry/bedding and other costs.
For DRE Guide amounts visit www.reading.gov.uk/DREGuide. To complete a DRE Assessment Form online visit DRE-form or call the FAB Team.
This is a weekly allowance which makes sure you have money to cover basic living costs before we make charges for care and support.
| Eligibility criteria | MIG if you are single/live alone | MIG if you live with a partner* |
|---|---|---|
| Age 18 or over, up to qualifying age for Pension Credit | £153.95 per week | £117.50 per week |
| Age 18 or over, up to qualifying age for Pension Credit and qualifying for the Enhanced Disability Premium | £177.00 per week | £134.05 per week |
| Reached or over qualifying age for Pension Credit | £220.85 per week | £168.60 per week |
| Eligible for Carer Premium | An additional £49.05 per week | An additional £49.05 per week |
| Responsible for a child, and a member of the same household as that child | An additional £94.90 per week per child (or a higher allowance if the child is disabled) | An additional £94.90 per week per child (or a higher allowance if the child is disabled) |
*See Optional ‘Affordability Check’ – if your partner is on a low income
Your Assessed Maximum Weekly Contribution is the most we could ask you to pay each week towards your Personal Budget/immediate care services. You may not need to pay this much:
Your social care worker can tell you the average weekly cost of your Personal Budget or the cost of your immediate care package.
Please contact us – we will go through your financial assessment with you to find out which part(s) you disagree with.
If you still believe your assessment is wrong you can request an appeal, drawing attention to any circumstances we haven’t taken into consideration. A team leader will review your financial assessment and write to confirm their decision. This is a Stage 1 Review.
If you’re still not satisfied you may request a Stage 2 Review. A Senior Manager from Adult Care Services will look at the information and write to you to confirm their decision.
If you still think we haven’t applied our charging rules fairly you can make a formal complaint through our statutory complaints process. See www.reading.gov.uk/appealdecision
Please note: Although the appeals process allows us to re-assess your financial circumstances within the rules, we cannot change the rules.
If you or your partner move home or your financial situation changes (for example – your benefits and savings increase or decrease significantly) you must let us know straight away.
We have the right to backdate any increase in your Assessed Maximum Weekly Contribution to the time the change took place – which could result in backdated charges to you. If you aren’t sure how changes will affect your Assessed Maximum Weekly Contribution call the FAB team for advice.
We use the financial information you provide to:
We may pass your information to other services within the Council where we think this is relevant to your circumstances and in line with data sharing and protection legislation.
If you ask us to support you with additional benefit claims and give consent, we will share your information with the DWP to help resolve any queries about those benefit claims.
You will find more details in the Adult Social Care Financial Assessments and Benefits Data Privacy Notice at: Data protection
0118 959 4242 | info@ageukberkshire.org.uk |
0118 950 2480 | info@ageukreading.org.uk |
0118 926 3941 | office@communicare.org.uk |
0118 966 2518 | office@readingmencap.org.uk |
You may want to seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) qualified to provide regulated financial advice which meets standards set by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Some IFAs hold additional, specialist qualifications which show they have knowledge and understanding of the things you should consider when you make decisions about paying for your long-term care. They are sometimes referred to as Specialist Care Fee Advisers.
An IFA cannot receive any money for recommending certain financial products so they won’t be biased towards a particular financial solution.
IFAs usually charge for providing regulated advice – most advisers will offer a free first meeting and during that meeting they should tell you about their fees and charges up-front.
Money Helper website has detailed information about long term care funding options and how to choose an Independent Financial Adviser. Or you can phone Money Helper on: 0800 138 7777.
The Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA) has contact details of trusted advisers who are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and are accredited to give specialist advice on later life matters including care funding, property and financial matters. You can search for a local independent adviser on the website at https://societyoflaterlifeadvisers.co.uk
If you are unhappy about our service or the way you have been treated by a member of the FAB Team please tell us straight away so we can take immediate action to put things right, or at least explain why we can’t do things differently.
You can talk to the FAB Officer working with you, or their manager, or our Customer Relations Team.
0118 937 3724 | fab.team@reading.gov.uk | Secure webform: Contact fab
0118 937 3747
0118 937 2905 | socialcare.complaints@reading.gov.uk
0118 959 4242 | info@ageukberkshire.org.uk | www.ageuk.org.uk/berkshire/
0118 950 2480 | info@ageukreading.org.uk | www.ageuk.org.uk/reading
0118 926 3941 | office@communicare.org.uk | www.communicare.org.uk/
0118 966 2518 | office@readingmencap.org.uk | www.readingmencap.org.uk/
0800 731 0122 | www.gov.uk/attendance-allowance
0800 917 2222 | www.gov.uk/pip