Who pays what?
The prospect of spending our final days in a home is not an appealing thought. But with one in three of us likely to end our lives this way, it is a prospect that cannot be ignored, especially when you start to consider the cost.

The average fee for a private room in a nursing home is £569 a week, according to Laing & Buisson, the care consultancy. Over two years, which is the average length of time spent in a home, the cost could be a hefty £60,000.

Not everyone has to pay. At the moment, people with assets worth less than £21,000 may be eligible for free care from the NHS, although their monthly income would also have to fall below a level set by the local health authority. Those whose assets, including their house, amount to more than this threshold will have to fund their own care.

Who pays and how much?
• How much help you will be entitled to from the Government depends on where you live in the UK and the state of your health.

• The funding of long-term care is split into two: nursing and personal care, which kicks in only if you are seriously ill, and residential care, which effectively covers the cost of living in a home.

• The NHS has a prescribed set of medical tests used by local trusts to decide how much help with nursing care costs you are eligible for.

• In England the amount that you can expect to receive in nursing and personal care allowances will be either £40, £83 or £133 a week, with the highest allowances going to the most poorly.

• Residential care is means-tested. If you have less than £12,750 in assets, including your house, your local authority will pay for care. If your assets total between £12,750 and £21,000, you will receive some help. If you have more than £21,000 in assets you are on your own. The local authority can force you to sell your house to pay for care.

• Once you have spent your assets the local authority will step in. If you are in a private care home, the management can ask you to leave if you are no longer picking up the bill. Your local authority is unlikely to pay for an expensive home.

• In Scotland everyone in need of nursing and personal care receives up to £210 a week. Thresholds similar to the English system apply for residential care. In Wales and Northern Ireland you will be entitled to £111 or £100 a week respectively towards nursing costs.

• If you are critically ill, you may qualify for continuing care, in which case the NHS will pick up the total bill.

If you would like to discuss the provision of long-term care planning, please email or contact us.