If you've had a needs assessment which says you have eligible care and support needs and your social worker puts services in place the Care Contribution Assessment team will complete a financial assessment. 

This is to calculate if you will be required to pay towards the costs of your care. 

Depending on the amount of income, savings or assets you have, you may have to contribute towards some, or all, of the cost of your care and support.  

If you have capital or savings above the Upper Capital Limit (£23,250)

You will be required to pay the full costs of your care and support. However, if your capital is close to this amount, please contact us to request a financial and needs assessment.

If your care and support costs are less than your assessed maximum weekly contribution

You will be required to pay for the actual costs of your care. You will pay the actual cost of your care or your assessed maximum weekly contribution, whichever is lower. Should your care increase in the future, your contribution will increase.

You will not be asked to pay any more your assessed maximum weekly contribution.

When you won't need a financial assessment 

If you receive a care service under Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 a financial assessment is not needed, and you will not have to pay towards your care.

However, if only a part of your care and support is funded under Section 117, you will require a financial assessment and may have to pay towards any care and support that is not funded under Section 117.  

If your care and support service is fully paid for by the NHS under Continuing Healthcare, you will not require a financial assessment.

A Care Contribution Assessment Officer will carry out a financial assessment. This will involve you completing the Online Financial Assessment Calculator. If you cannot access this, we will contact you by post, telephone or email.  

If we contact you, but you do not respond, we will take the view that you are self-funding and you will be required to pay the full cost of your care. Therefore, it is important that when we make contact, you respond in a timely manner.  

Self-funding 

If you are self-funding we can support you in finding care

When you have a financial assessment, we will do the following:  

• ask for details of your income, which includes benefits 
• ask for balances of all bank accounts, including savings, ISAs, and bonds
• we will need the value of things you own which could include property, land, and shares
• ask for some of your housing costs (if you are receiving care at home)
• we will check that you are receiving the benefits you are entitled to 

For further information download our Charging policy for care and support (PDF)

Care home and a property 

If you are moving into a care home permanently, and you own a property that is now empty, the capital in that property will be taken into account during your financial assessment. Your Care Contribution Officer will ask you to provide details about the property and explain the possible funding arrangements, including the Deferred Payment Agreement (DPA). However, you should always seek independent legal or financial advice before making a decision on how to use your capital assets. 
 

Once the financial assessment has been completed, we will send you a letter letting you know: 

• how much you’ll need to pay towards your care and support services 
• how we’ve worked this out 
• how to arrange payments and set up a direct debit

If your assessment finds you are required to pay the full costs of your care, we can still support you in finding and arranging care. For more information visit Paying for Care Myself

If you feel that your assessment is incorrect, you should first contact the officer who has completed the assessment to ensure that all the details relating to your assessment are correct.

If you still think your assessment is incorrect you can request a formal reconsideration but this must be done within 3 months of the date of the decision and must be made in writing or by email to:

The Manager Care Contribution Assessment Team  
Finance Operational Services,  
County Hall  
Spetchley Road
Worcester  
WR5 2NP

Email: CCAAdmin@worcestershire.gov.uk