Paying for your care and support

This page sets out how we decide how much you may need to pay towards the cost of your care. This includes you completing a financial assessment. A financial assessment form will be given to you by your allocated Social Worker.

If you'd like independent advice, contact an independent financial advisor below:

• Lifetime IFA

  • phone: 0800 0149 370

• Money Helper

  • phone: 0300 500 5000

  • website: The Money Advice Service

• Housing Care.org (for older people only)

  • phone: 0800 377 7070

• Citizens Advice Southwark

  • phone: 0344 499 4134

  • address: 97 Peckham High St, London SE15 5RS

Completing a financial assessment

You will be need to complete the financial assessment form detailing your personal details, income, outgoings. You will need to sign this form. You do not have to give these details if you opt to pay for your care, but you'll be required to state this on the form, sign and return it to us.

On receipt of the completed Financial Assessment Form we will work out how much you can afford to contribute based on:

• how much it costs to provide care and support to meet your needs
• your personal expenses allowance (or minimum income guaranteed if you receive non-residential care services); this allowance is set by the government and reflects how much money you should be left with every week

It's important that you provide all the requested information as soon as possible. This will help us to make a decision more quickly.

How we work out how much you need to pay

To make sure that you only pay what you can afford, we'll charge you according to how much income you have available. The financial assessment will tell us about the value of your income, your capital, and any eligible disability related expenses. Here are some examples of income and capital:

• income includes benefits such as Personal Independence Payments, Attendance Allowance and Income Support; if you're employed we won't include income from your earnings in the financial assessment
• capital includes things like property (houses), stocks and shares, premium bonds, savings and land

You will need to pay for your own care costs in full if you own capital in excess of the upper capital limit (£23,250). If the value of your capital falls below the capital limit over time (for example because you've spent your savings on covering your care costs), we'll reassess you and ask you to contribute to the costs of your care based on your income.

You will need to contribute towards the costs of your care and support if the value of the capital that you own falls between the minimum and maximum capital limit thresholds (the current lower capital limit threshold is £14,250; the upper capital limit threshold is £23,250).

When considering how much weekly income you have, we will apply a tariff income of £1 for every £250 worth of capital you own between the lower and upper capital limit. We won't apply a tariff income if you own capital worth less than the lower capital limit.

The below table provides an example of how we calculate the tariff income:

You receive benefits of £100 per week, and own capital worth £16,000. This means that you own capital of £1,750 above the lower capital limit of £14,250.

We will apply a tariff charge of £7 against your capital, giving you an income of £107 per week.

For non-residential care, we will only ask you to contribute if you have income in excess of the minimum income guarantee as set by the government. If your income exceeds the minimum income guarantee (after considering applicable expenditure allowances), we'll ask you to contribute to your care costs from your available income.

If you receive non-residential care services, we will not charge you if we calculate that you're liable for a weekly contribution of less than £3.

Paying your contribution

You can pay your contribution the followng ways:

• online
• calling our automated payment line on 0345 6000 611
• set up a Standing Order direct with your bank (see your invoice for our bank details)
• send a cheque
• request a swipe card

If you require further information about how to pay your assessed charges, contact the Team on 0207 525 1111.

Deferred payments

If you are moving into a residential or nursing care home and we assess that you are able to contribute the full cost of your care, you may be able to defer the payments until a later date. See our  deferred payments page for more information.

A change in your circumstances

We will review your financial assessment at least once a year to make sure that we're charging you accurately and appropriately. If your circumstances change (for example, your weekly income goes down or the value of your capital (including savings and or any shares and stocks) increases or decreases), contact the Charging Team on 0800 358 0228.

More information

For further information, download our Fairer Contributions Policy ^{(PDF, 180kb)} 

Contact details

If you have questions about the financial assessment process, contact us via phone on 0800 358 0228 or email ChargingTeam.AdultSocialCare@southwark.gov.uk  

The income we collect is used to continue providing services to the people who need it most, so it's important that contributions are paid when due. You can email the team or phone them on 0207 525 1111 for advice on how to pay your assessed contribution.

You will find a leaflet on this page (under documents) that provides information about care and support for adults with care needs in Southwark. You can download and print this leaflet.

Page last updated: 13 December 2022