Funding your Domiciliary Care

Paying for homecare

Care services at home aren’t usually free. How much pay for homecare depends on a number of factors, including your income and savings. Find out how to arrange homecare, how much you may have to pay and the financial support available.

How do I access homecare?

If you’re having trouble with everyday tasks such as washing, cooking and getting dressed, ask your local council for a care needs assessment. This helps to work out what would help you stay independent at home for longer. Your carer, GP, or district nurse can make a referral for an assessment on your behalf with your permission.

Will the local council pay for my homecare?

If your local council carries out a care needs assessment and agrees you have eligible needs for care and support at home, they will do a means test. This will take into account your income and savings. Unless you’re going into a care home, this won’t take into account the value of your property.

Here’s how the means test for social care will look at your income and savings, and how this will affect what you pay for care.

Your capital	What you will have to pay
Over £23,250	You must pay full fees (known as being self-funding).
Between £14,250 and £23,250	The local council will fund some of your care and you'll contribute to the rest.
Less than £14,250	This will be ignored and won't be included in the means test – the local council will pay for your care. However, they will still take your eligible income into account.

Certain types of income, such as money from certain disability benefits and pensions, may not be counted in the means test. This is the same for certain types of capital. All other income and capital can be taken into account.

If all your eligible income is taken into account in your means test, you must be left with an income of £189.00 per week, if you’re single and above Pension Credit qualifying age. This is known as the Minimum Income Guarantee.

If you’re eligible for financial support to pay for homecare, your local council can arrange homecare services for you. Alternatively you can choose to receive direct payments and arrange homecare yourself.

Find out more about paying for care using direct payments

How much does it cost to pay for my own homecare?

If you’re paying fees yourself (called self-funding), then you will arrange and pay for your own care, but your local council should provide advice to support you.

Costs for homecare vary across the country, but average around £15 per hour. You can use this cost of care and eligibility in England tool to get an estimate for care costs in your area.

To find a homecare agency:

The UK Home Care Association can give you details of home care providers that follow its code of practice.
Your local adult social services department should be able to provide you with details of approved private agencies.
Ask friends or relatives for recommendations.

Can I get financial support to pay for my homecare?

Make sure you’re claiming all the benefits you’re entitled to.

Attendance Allowance is a benefit for people over State Pension age who need extra help to stay independent at home, due to an illness or disability.
If you’re under State Pension age, you may be eligible for Personal Independence Payment instead
If you have a carer, they could be eligible for Carer’s Allowance.

These benefits aren’t means-tested, so don’t take into account your income and savings.

An introduction to home care costings

Understanding your home care funding options can be daunting, that’s why we try to keep it simple.

We understand how stressful it can be organising care for yourself or a loved one. That’s why we’ll aim to keep things as simple and straight-forward as possible when it comes to costs. We are:

Upfront and transparent about our home care costs. There are no hidden fees or lengthy notice periods.
Not a care agency, so you don’t have to worry about agency fees or retainers.
Able to accept direct payments. If you’re receiving funding through social services and have opted for direct payments, we’re able to accept top-ups to these payments.

Depending on your needs, home care costs will vary. Visiting care is charged at an hourly rate with live-in care, or “24 hour care“, quoted on either a daily rate for short-term respite or weekly rate for ongoing care. We can discuss the level of care that is right for you and whether the cost of home care is financially sustainable for you and your family.

Although the majority of our families are paying for their care privately, there may be the opportunity for you to access home care funding from either your Local Authority or Clinical Commissioning Group. In these cases, we work with the funding body to get the support you need in place and give you a better quality of life at home.

To find out more about Health and Social Care Integration, please click here.

The Government have announced £2.9 billion in local social care funding due to coronavirus.

If you or a loved one needs support at home, there are funding options available to you. Call us today on 0333 0603 862

Frequently asked questions

Can I employ my own carer?

If you want to employ a care worker directly, you must draw up a contract of employment so that you are both clear on what is expected. Be aware of financial considerations such as National Insurance contributions.

Find out more about directly employing a carer from the HMRC

New pension rules mean that if you employ your own carer using either your own money or money from your direct payment, you may now be legally obliged to contribute towards a pension for them.

You may need to take this into account if you decide to hire a carer or carers directly and you pay them more than £768 every four weeks (£10,000 per year). If you use a payroll service they may help you with these new duties.

Take a look at The Pensions Regulator’s Duties checker for more help
What if I’m running out of money?

If you’re paying fees yourself (called self-funding) and your capital reaches less than £23,250, the local council may assist with funding. You should request an assessment a few months before that happens as they will have to agree you need a care home. They should arrange one as soon as possible so you don’t have to use up your capital below that amount.
What if I give away some of my money?

You may think about giving away some of your savings, income or property to avoid paying likely care costs, and to give something to your relatives or charity, for example.

If the council thinks that you have done this to avoid paying care fees they may still assess you as if you still had the money or property that you have given away. This is referred to as deprivation of assets.

Find out more about deprivation of assets

Are there any hidden costs to your live-in care service?

No. Our pricing is completely transparent. After your initial care assessment we will present our proposal to you for consideration, this will include a detailed breakdown of the costs and services that we will provide.

Is there any funding available to meet some of the costs of care?

All customers are entitled to Attendance Allowance provided by the government, which is non-means tested. Other non-means tested benefits are available from the NHS, such as Continuum of Care for customers in the later stages of life or those under the age of 65 with a diagnosis of illnesses, such as early onset dementia.

Learn more

Do I pay the carer directly?

No. Our carers are employed directly by us, meaning all salary and contract matters are looked after by us. This means that you can focus more on the relationship and the support you receive without any awkward conversations about money.

Do you accept direct payment top-ups?

Yes, if you’re receiving direct payments from your local authority for your social care funding, we can accept top-ups to these payments. Get in touch to find out more.

Direct payments allow you to set-up care with your chosen provider and top-up payments if you need to. Speak to your local authority if you’re receiving social care funding and would like to opt for this arrangement.

Clear pricing for visiting and overnight care

Unlike other care companies, with Helping Hands you can be assured there are no hidden fees. And because we’re fully regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and put so much care and attention into training our carers, we provide a quality service and home care you can rely on.

Our visiting care service is arranged around what you require. Everybody is different and that’s why we take the time to understand your unique requirements.

With home visits from as little as 30 minutes per week up to several a day, as well as the option of overnight support, we have the experience and flexibility to meet your care needs.

And because our service is so flexible, you can easily reduce or increase how much support you’re receiving, if or when your needs change.

How much does visiting care cost?

We know how important it is for you to have a clear picture of your care fees. So, we provide a simple, straightforward breakdown from the very start.

Here’s an outline of our visiting care fees:

Prices start from £20 per hour for one-to-one personal home care
Flexible costs for visits lasting 30, 45 or 60 minutes
Prices depend on your location and specific care needs, with differences for overnight care and support provided during weekends and bank holidays
Call-out fee of £3.50 per visit to cover travel costs
Free home visit from your local care specialist to assess your needs (for care lasting more than a month) and ongoing support from a dedicated contact to ensure you’re happy with our service

Call us today to discuss your home care needs and get a full quote for visiting care. Our friendly team of advisors is here seven days a week to take your call and talk you through all the options.

Your quote for visiting care will be confirmed once your local care assessor has visited you at home to finalise your care plan and double-check we have everything is covered.

Quality visiting care you can trust

We look after our carers so they can give the very best care to you.

Every single one of our carers is employed directly by us. It means we not only put special care and attention into their award-winning, industry-renowned training, but we also ensure that each of our carers have our ongoing support.

Because we’re a family-owned and family-run company, family values run right the way through our organisation, from the compassion and commitment of each of our carers through to the dedication and understanding of our managers and support teams.

And, with over 30 years’ experience as the nation’s leading home care company, we put extra special emphasis on creating care plans that are unique to each of our customers, providing them with care at home just the way they want it.

We’re here to talk through your home care options, our fees and the funding options that may be available to you. Call our friendly customer advice team today.

Excellent Customer Service. Spoke with a live and well-informed customer service representative. All my questions were answered. Getting a live expert on the phone is the only way to provide quality customer service. Thank you!

Customer 1

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