Guide to planning for care home fees

The cost of care is ever increasing, and will always be a worry for families with elderly relatives. There is often a wish to mitigate the cost of care and this guide looks at what is possible.

When planning for care fees it is important not to overlook the fact whilst there might be a wish to leave an inheritance for children, this should not be done as a sacrifice to comfortable and quality care in later life.

Nursing Care Fees

It is important to remember that all nursing care is free. This is a fundamental of the NHS. However, not all care is nursing care and a good deal of care is classed as social care. The social care element is not free and there are circumstances where you would have to pay for the social care you receive (such as the so called ‘hotel costs’ of any residential care).

You will receive a health assessment. If – and this is a big if – your primary need is nursing care, then you will not pay any fees for your care at all. All your costs and fees will be paid for by the Local Authority, including the social care elements, and the hotel costs of any residential care. This is the case, regardless of what wealth you may have. This is referred to as Continuing Healthcare (CHC).

To see the rest of our full FREE GUIDE please click on the icon below.