Your financial assessment
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About the financial assessment
A financial assessment works out if and how much you may need to contribute towards your social care.
We generally help to pay for care costs if you have assets less than £23,250. You will have to pay more towards your social care costs the more money and/or assets you have.
You do not have to pay if:
- You are subject to Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983
- You suffer from Creutzfeldt Jacob Disease (CJD)
- You are under the age of 18 years
- Your services are an important part of a time limited package of short-term care
- Your services are part of your ongoing health care
- You use NHS funded sessional services
- You get help from the Independent Living Fund (ILF)
- You are a carer receiving services under the Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000
What information you need to provide
You will be asked to provide information and in some cases, evidence of your finances. Examples include:
- Income - Information about your salary, wages, pensions and any state benefits
- Savings - Money saved in bank accounts, shares etc.
- Assets - Assets include any property or land of value that you own. You should include information on any properties you live in now or have owned in the past and if you own more than one property. If you own a second property that you don’t live in, you may become eligible for paying for the full cost of your social care.
Telling us about your finances will help us tell you about the amount of money you can afford to pay. It will also help our officers to inform you of any benefits you might be able to claim.
You can choose to not tell us about your finances. If you don’t, you must pay for the full cost of your care.
Financial assessment process
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Referral
Show contentReferral
- A social care practitioner will complete your care needs assessment
- If you are eligible for support, your social care practitioner will refer you to the Financial Assessment and Charging Team (“the team”) to complete your financial assessment
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Financial assessment
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The team will contact you to make arrangements to complete your financial assessment
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If you need to complete any forms, submit any documents and/or evidence, you must do so within 14 days. If we do not receive these within 14 days, it will delay your assessment, and you may be charged the full cost of your care
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Once received, the team will review and figure out how much you may need to pay towards your social care costs. They will let you know your assessed contribution.
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If you think there is an error in your assessed contribution, you can request a review of your financial assessment. You would need to provide evidence of why you believe an error has occurred.
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Payments
Show content- Your first invoice will be within two months of your care starting and then monthly
- Your invoice will show you how much you need to pay. Once you receive your invoice, it should be paid straight away.
- If you receive a Direct Payment, you must pay your care contributions into your Direct Payment account.
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Review
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The team will notify you every April/May of any changes to your care contributions due to government changes to benefits and pensions
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We will also contact you to ensure your financial assessment is up to date. This will usually be once a year
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If your circumstances change such as changes in income and/or assets, benefits, or housing circumstances, you must tell us straight away by contacting the team
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Changes in your care and support plan can also affect your contributions. We will contact you if there are any changes
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Contact information
Before contacting us, please check to see if we can answer your question from our online information.
Write to us:
Financial Assessment and Charging Team, 1st Floor Civic Centre, Zone 1K, Darwall Street, Walsall, WS1 1RG
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Available on demand Monday to Friday between 9am and 4:30pm
