How to pay for live-in care

1. Attendance Allowance: check this first

Attendance Allowance is a benefit for people over State Pension age who need help with personal care, such as washing, dressing or taking medication, or who need someone to keep an eye on them. It isn't means-tested: savings, income and the house don't matter.

You can usually claim once help has been needed for six months, sooner under special rules for terminal illness. Claim with form AA1 from GOV.UK, or call the Attendance Allowance helpline on 0800 731 0122 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm).

It can also unlock other help. Someone getting Attendance Allowance may become eligible for Pension Credit, or for more of it, and that can lead on to help with council tax. It's worth re-checking both once Attendance Allowance is awarded.

2. NHS Continuing Healthcare: for complex health needs

NHS Continuing Healthcare is free care, arranged and paid for by the NHS, for people whose main need is health care rather than social care. It isn't means-tested, and it can pay for care at home.

1. The checklist. A nurse, doctor or social worker fills in a short checklist. Ask for one if needs are significant, for example before a hospital discharge.
2. The full assessment. If the checklist suggests it, a team of at least two professionals looks at 12 areas of need, such as mobility, breathing, nutrition and cognition.
3. The decision. Your local Integrated Care Board decides, normally within 28 days.

Eligibility depends on needs, not on a diagnosis. Many people with dementia or Parkinson's don't qualify, but it's always worth asking, and decisions can be challenged.

3. Council help: needs and financial assessments

Anyone can ask their council for a needs assessment, whatever their savings. It's free, and it's useful even if you'll pay yourself: it sets out what help is needed.

If the council agrees there are eligible needs, a financial assessment works out what you pay. In England for 2026–27:

• Over £23,250 in savings and other capital: you usually pay in full.
• Between £14,250 and £23,250: the council contributes and you pay part.
• For care at home, the house isn't counted, and charges must leave you at least a minimum weekly income (£241.45 for a single person over Pension Credit age).

If the council contributes, it gives a personal budget. You can usually take it as a direct payment and use it to arrange your own care. Ask your council whether it can be used for live-in care through an introductory agency like ours. Councils vary.

4. Paying privately

Most families with savings or a house pay privately, from some mix of:

• Income: pensions, Attendance Allowance and any other benefits.
• Savings and investments.
• Equity release: borrowing against the house without selling it. It's a big decision with long-term costs, so only do it with a regulated adviser who specialises in later-life finance.
• A care fees annuity: a lump sum buys an income that pays for care for life. Again, take regulated advice.

With live-in care from £1,095 a week, a year costs around £57,000. That's less than an average care home in our counties, and the house stays yours. Compare costs in your area.

5. Other help worth checking

• Council tax: someone with severe dementia who gets Attendance Allowance may be disregarded for council tax. Ask your council about the "severe mental impairment" disregard.
• Pension Credit: often unclaimed, and it unlocks other help.
• A benefits check: a free online calculator, such as Turn2us or Age UK's, takes about 20 minutes.

Where to get free, independent advice

• Age UK Advice Line: 0800 678 1602, free, 8am to 7pm, every day
• Independent Age helpline: 0800 319 6789, free, 8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday
• Turn2us benefits calculator
• Society of Later Life Advisers, to find a regulated financial adviser

This guide covers England. It's general information, not financial or legal advice. Rules and rates change, so check your own situation with your council or an independent adviser.