Income support for care homes

Last updated May 2005

For information contact your local social security office or Jobcentre Plus Office

What is it?

• For people under 60 years old and on a low income.
• If you are living in a home permanently, savings over £16,000 usually mean you cannot get Income Support (£8,000 if your stay is temporary)

Can I get it?

Are you:

• In Great Britain?
• aged 16 and under 60?
• on a low income?

If YES claim Income Support.
(To see if you are on a low income for Income Support or if you are not sure about the effect of your savings, check with your social security office).

What else should I know?
If you have recently come from abroad or returned from abroad, there are some extra rules.
You may be able to get Income Support even if you get help from your Social Services department, but they will count it when they work out how much you must pay towards the fees.

Permanent stays in a home
If you are living in a home permanently and your partner does not live there with you, your Income Support will usually be looked at separately. Your partner may have to pay towards the cost of you living in the home. This will depend on your partner's savings and income.

(We use partner to mean a person you are married to or a person you are living with as if you are married to them).

Savings over £10,000 affect how much Income Support you can get.

If your savings include the value of your former home, this amount can sometimes be ignored:

Your former home will be ignored if your partner, a relative who is aged 60 or over, or a relative who is sick or disabled lives there

If you are trying to sell your former home, it will also be ignored for up to 6 months, sometimes longer. You will not have to pay back benefit you received during this time.

Temporary stays in a home

• If your stay in a home is temporary, Income Support will usually be worked out for you and your partner together.
• If you get Income Support together, your partner must be working an average of less than 24 hours a week or not working.
• Your partner's income and savings will affect Income Support you get together.
• Savings over £3,000 affect how much Income Support you can get.
• The value of your home is ignored.

How do I claim?
Claim straight away. If you delay you may lose benefit.
Contact your social security office or Jobcentre Plus for a claim form. You can find your local office here, or look for the Jobcentre Plus, social security or Jobcentre display advert in the business numbers section of the phone book.
The person who advises you at your Social Services department may be able to give you an Income Support claim form. They may also be able to help you to fill it in.
It is important that we can be sure of your identity when you make a claim. We may need to ask you about your background and look at any official documents you have to support the information you give.

I am already getting it. What happens if:

I go into hospital or someone I claim for goes into hospital?
You must tell your social security or Jobcentre Plus office as soon as you come out of or go into hospital. You must also tell them if someone you get benefit for goes into or comes out of hospital.

As soon as you go into hospital
If you go into hospital from a local council residential care home, your Income Support will usually reduce to £14.50.

After 4 weeks
If you have a partner and get a Severe Disability Premium, this will usually reduce to £45.50 a week. If you do not have a partner, your Severe Disability Premium will stop.

After 12 weeks
If you get extra money for a dependant who is in hospital, the extra money will reduce to £16.40 a week.If you get help with housing costs, we will look at them to see if they should continue. We will do this every 12 weeks if you are still in hospital.

After 52 weeks
If you are a single or a lone parent who we no longer treat as responsible for your children, your Income Support will reduce to £16.40 a week.

If you are a lone parent who is still treated as responsible for your children, your Income Support will reduce to £20.50.

Your Income Support may be reduced by more if the people looking after you do not think you can make full use of this money each week.

Any extra money you get for housing costs will stop.

If you are part of a couple and you or your partner are in hospital, your Income Support will be reduced by £16.40.

If you are part of a couple and both you and your partner are in hospital, your Income Support will reduce to £41.00.

If you or your partner are in hospital, you may both need to make a separate claim for Income Support. Your partner's claim will be worked out separately.

I go to live abroad or visit?
Let us know as soon as you can that you are going abroad. You can usually do this by contacting your social security office.

If you are going abroad permanently you cannot get Income Support.

If your stay abroad is temporary, you may be able to get Income Support for the first 4 weeks you are abroad. You can only do this if you are unlikely to be abroad for more than 52 weeks, would still qualify for Income Support if you had stayed in the United Kingdom, and one of the following applies to you:

• you are incapable of work because of sickness or disability and you have gone abroad only for treatment for that sickness or disability
• you have been incapable of work for 364 days when you go abroad
• you get a pensioner premium or disability premium for a partner who is going abroad with you.

You may be able to get Income Support for the first 8 weeks if:

• you, or you and a member of your family, are going abroad only to help a dependant who is going abroad for medical treatment from a qualified person, and
• you are unlikely to be abroad for more than 52 weeks, and you would still qualify for Income Support if you had stayed in the UK.
  

National Health Treatment Abroad
New legislation from 4th October 2004 means that customers who undergo NHS funded medical treatment abroad may be able to continue to receive their Income Support for the duration of their treatment abroad.

Most benefits are affected if you are going abroad. You can get more information about certain countrieshere.

I am part of a service family abroad or visiting?
The rules for going abroad are the same as for anyone else going abroad. See above.

If I start work but my sickness or disability means I have to stop again?
Under New Deal for diabled people, If you start work but have to stop within 52 weeks because of your sickness or disability, you may be able to go back onto Income Support at the same amount you got before you started working.
To be able to do this:

• you must have been sick for at least 28 weeks and
• you must have started work or training within 7 days of getting Income Support and
• your other circumstances must still be the same.
  

You must let your social security office know you have started work or training within one month of the date you start.

You cannot get protection if your benefit stopped because of a medical test.

I start voluntary work?
You can do as much voluntary work as you like. Your Income Support will not be affected as long as you do not receive any pay other than to pay for expenses like fares or special clothing you need for the voluntary work.
Your Income Support will not be affected if it is reasonable for the person or organisation you are doing the voluntary work for not to pay you.
If it is unreasonable not to pay you, we will reduce your Income Support by an amount you could expect to be paid for the work you are doing, even though you are not being paid.  You must tell your social security office if you do any voluntary work.
You must also tell us if you are paid in any way. This includes things that are sometimes called payment in kind. This could be something like meal vouchers.

More information
To get more information or leaflets, get in touch with your social security office.

Other help
Care homes
Temporary stays in a residential care or nursing home
Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
Attendance Allowance (AA)
Carer's Allowance (CA)
Housing Benefit
Council Tax Benefit

Definitions
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UK means England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland but not the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.
Great Britain means England, Scotland and Wales.
Remember that this website is only a general guide to benefits and schemes and is not a full and authoritative statement of the law. We have made every effort to ensure that the information on this website is correct at the date shown at the top of this page. However, changes in the law may make the website become gradually less accurate.