Funding and planning for your care
There are many aspects to funding and planning for care, sometimes it can feel overwhelming to people trying to access information and advice on what support is available and how it can be accessed – when they need to pay for things themselves and when they are entitled to help. Age UK Hertfordshire have been working with Healthwatch Hertfordshire to bring all of this into one place to make it easier for people to get the information and advice they need.
We hope that this guide is of use but as ever, we are keen to hear your views. Please contact us at Contact us | Healthwatch Hertfordshire
Needing care and support
Do you feel like you could you do with a little extra help at home? Perhaps it’s trickier than it used to be to get around the house and take care of yourself – or perhaps you could use a hand with the housework or shopping. Asking for help can be hard. You might not want to admit that you’re finding everyday tasks more difficult – but it’s something lots of us face as we get older. And the good news is there’s support available to help you live safely and independently at home for longer.
Where can I get information?
ageukig23_getting_help_at_home_inf.pdf
Care needs assessment
Needing some support with certain things is a normal part of ageing. A care needs assessment is the first step in the process of finding out whether you’re eligible for help with care and support from the local council. And even if you’re not eligible for council help, having a care needs assessment can help guide you as you make your own arrangements.
To get started, contact the social services department of Hertfordshire County by phone on 0300 123 4042 or online at Request for Support
You should explain that you need some help at home and ask for a care needs assessment. It’s free and you can get one regardless of your income or savings. Let the council know if you need help urgently.
Where can I get information?
Advice if you're paying for your own care | Hertfordshire County Council
fs41_how_to_get_care_and_support_fcs.pdf
Home care assessment
If you have difficulty managing at home, you can ask the local authority for a needs assessment. Another person such as your carer, GP, or district nurse can make a referral on your behalf with your permission. Carers can ask for a separate assessment of their support needs. If you are in hospital, the professionals working on your ward may need to arrange social care services with you prior to discharge to ensure you are safe and properly supported at home or to meet your rehabilitation needs. Staff should involve you as much as you want in the planning of your care and support.
Where can I get information?
fs46_paying_for_care_and_support_at_home_fcs.pdf
fs24_personal_budgets_and_direct_payments_in_social_care_fcs.pdf
Factsheet-G6-Direct-Payments-2025.pdf
Care at home | Hertfordshire County Councils:
Aids and Adaptations
Most of us want to live in our own home for as long as possible. It can be a big part of feeling independent. But it can become harder to manage as we get older for various reasons – for example, health problems or a bereavement. Making changes to your home or the way you do things can help make life easier.
You can look at things such as:
- Accessing your home
- Getting around your home
- Using the stairs
- Getting up and dressed
- In the kitchen
- Washing, bathing and using the toilet
- Answering the door. Helpful technology
- Telehealth
- Telecare
- If you have sensory needs such as sight loss, hearing loss, combined sight and hearing loss or memory loss.
Where can I get information?
ageukig17_adapting_your_home_inf.pdf
Making your home safer and more comfortable | Age UK
Equipment at home | Hertfordshire County Council
Hertfordshire Home Improvement Agency
Fire safety home visits, school visits and open days | Hertfordshire County Council
Getting help with home improvements - Citizens Advice
Making changes and repairs to your home | Hertfordshire County Council
When you need a short stay in respite care
If the local authority arranges your care home placement, it can be on a short-term, temporary, or permanent basis. This affects how the local authority assesses your entitlement to financial support and how much money you are allowed to retain for your living expenses. You should be informed of the local authority recommendation as soon as possible and have this recorded in your agreed care and support plan.
Note: If you have more than £23,250 in capital included in the financial assessment, the local authority does not have a duty to pay towards your fees and can treat you as a self-funder.
Where can I get information?
fs58_paying_for_short-term_and_temporary_care_in_a_care_home_fcs.pdf
When you need permanent residential care
If you’re finding it more difficult to manage at home, you might be consider moving. It is important that you think through your options and decide whether moving to a care home is the right option for you. Thinking about moving into a care home can feel overwhelming – especially when you don’t know where to start or who to contact, and so it is important to get information on things such as assessing your needs to paying for care.
Where can I get information?
fs6_finding_help_at_home_fcs.pdf
fs10_paying_for_permanent_residential_care_fcs.pdf
Care homes | Hertfordshire County Council
Treatment of property
If you own a property, you must be shown to have a share in its value, called a ‘beneficial interest’. This means you have the right to a share of the sale proceeds if sold.
Your beneficial interest in a property can be disregarded in the financial assessment in certain circumstances. For example, if it is your former home and your partner still lives there. There is a 12-week disregard for your main or only home from the day you first become a permanent care home resident, giving you time to decide how to use your property to pay care fees. In other circumstances, the local authority has a discretion to disregard property.
Where can I get information?
fs38_property_and_paying_for_residential_care_fcs.pdf
If you have a partner
If you are in a couple and one of you needs to go into a care home, it is important to be aware of how the local authority financial assessment rules work. If you move into a care home with local authority funding assistance, it is likely you will have to pay something towards the cost from your own income and capital, subject to certain disregards. Your partner cannot be charged a contribution towards the cost of your care. You will usually need to make separate claims for benefits, if one of you permanently enters a care home.
Where can I get information?
fs39-paying-for-care-in-a-care-home-if-you-have-a-partner.pdf
NHS Continuing Healthcare
If you have significant ongoing care needs, it is not always clear whether responsibility to meet your needs lies with the NHS or local authority. NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is an ongoing package of care that is funded solely by the NHS, if you are aged 18 or over, and found to have a ‘primary health need’. It is provided to meet needs arising because of disability, accident, or illness.
Where can I get information?
NHS continuing healthcare - Social care and support guide - NHS
fs20_nhs_continuing_healthcare_and_nhs-funded_nursing_care_fcs.pdf
Beacon CHC | Free advice & expert representation - Beacon CHC
NHS funded nursing care
NHS-funded nursing care (NHS-FNC) is a fixed rate payment. It is made directly to a nursing home by the local ICB, to support the provision of nursing care by the home’s registered nurses to those residents assessed as eligible for NHS-FNC.
Residential homes do not employ registered nurses, as residents receive necessary nursing care from NHS nurses based in the community, such as district nurses. Consequently, these homes are not paid NHS-FNC. Registered nurse input includes time spent on stand-by, paid breaks, receiving supervision and time spent in circumstances ancillary to or closely connected with nursing care.
Where can I get information?
NHS-funded nursing care - Social care and support guide - NHS
fs20_nhs_continuing_healthcare_and_nhs-funded_nursing_care_fcs.pdf
What is NHS-funded Nursing Care (FNC) and how can I request it? - Beacon CHC - Beacon CHC
Deprivation of Assets
Deliberate deprivation of assets means you have intentionally decreased your overall assets, in order to reduce how much you are required to pay towards services that meet your needs for care and support. The local authority must show that you knew you may need care and support in the future when you carried out this action. It is therefore an evidence-based test of both foreseeability and intention.
Where can I get information?
fs40_deprivation_of_assets_in_social_care_fcs.pdf
Advance Care Planning
Advanced care planning (ACP) is the process of making decisions about the care you would like to receive in the future. This helps ensure that anyone involved in your care understands what matters to you. This can be recorded in something called an advance care plan - there is no set template and you can record your wishes in a way that suits you. Some people choose to write their wishes in a document called an advance care plan, or advance statement.
Where can I get information?
Advance care planning | Gold Standard Framework | Marie Curie
Planning your care - Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care
Advance care planning - Isabel Hospice
Advance care planning | Macmillan Cancer Support
End of life care - Herts and West Essex ICS
Saint Francis Hospice - Planning for your future care
What is a living will (advance decision)? | Age UK
Powers of Attorney
There might come a time when you’re no longer able to make your own decisions. Having a power of attorney set up in advance can make things much easier – so it’s worth considering now. Setting up a power of attorney gives someone you trust – your ‘attorney’ – the legal authority to make decisions on your behalf if a time comes you can’t make them yourself.
Where can I get information?
ageukig21_powers_of_attorney_inf.pdf
Wills
Making a will is the only way to ensure that your wishes are met after you die. You might not have got round to making your will yet, or it might be something you’ve been putting off – but while it can seem daunting, the process can actually be quite simple.
Where can I get information?
Making a will - all you need to know | Age UK