1 Working out how much money you need
We use the information from your assessment to work out how much money is available to meet your needs.
We also take into account ways of meeting your needs which may work well for you and do not require County Council funding.
We use national guidelines set out in the Care Act 2014 for everyone needing support to make sure we allocate the money fairly. There may be some flexibility if you have higher or more complex needs.
2 Working out how much you may need to pay
We will ask a welfare benefits adviser to assess your finances. This will help us work out how much you should pay towards the cost of your support. If you have more than £23,250 in savings and investments (not including the value of your main or only home), you will have to pay the full cost.
For most people, the amount you pay will only be a contribution towards the full cost of your care.
Our contribution + your contribution = your personal budget
Your contribution
This amount is based on your weekly income and any capital you may have if you have less than £23,250 in savings or investments.
To work out the amount we add together:
- your weekly income, such as pensions and state benefits (but not money you earn)
- a weekly charge on capital at a rate of £1.00 a week for every £250 (or part of £250) of your savings over £14,250 but less than £23,250. This does not include the value of your main or only home.
Then we take away allowances:
- to cover your day-to-day living expenses (the 'minimum income guarantee')
- for property-related household expenses
- for agreed disability-related expenses.
The final figure is your contribution.
3 Managing your personal budget
If we agree you are eligible for financial support we will allocate you a personal budget. The money can be:
- paid through direct payments
- managed for you by the County Council
- a mix of these options.
You can find out more about these options on Your personal budget.
4 If you have to pay the full cost yourself
If you have more than £23,250 in savings or investments (not including the value of your main or only home), you will have to pay the full cost yourself. We will provide you with information and advice to help you find the support you need.
Please let us know if your circumstances change though.
We can help you arrange and buy the services through our Support Brokerage Service if you would like us to do this for you.
5 Care and support brokerage service
If you have been assessed as having eligible social care needs, but you have savings or investments over £23,250 (not including the value of your main or only home), we offer a brokerage service to help you buy services within the community and for short-term residential care.
To cover our costs for making the arrangements we:
- charge an initial £212
- will charge a further £212 if you want us to change your support later on
- charge an ongoing administration fee of £6.50 per week if you want us to buy services for you and reclaim the cost from you.
6 Find out more
Further information can be found in our booklet, or you can contact us below.