Residential care and nursing homes and benefits
A permanent or temporary stay in a residential care or nursing home can affect your benefits. Below are a list of benefits and how they may be affected if your stay is permanent or temporary.
Benefits and home fees
If you are receiving benefits and your circumstances change, you need to tell your local Jobs and Benefits office. You will probably have to contribute most benefits you get towards your home fees.
Moving into a home should not affect the mobility component of your Disability Living Allowance (DLA). It will also be disregarded when your local Trust is calculating how much you should contribute towards the cost of your care.
If your local Trust is funding your residential care or nursing home fees, both the care component and the mobility component of your DLA may be affected. You should contact the office that normally pays your DLA for further information.
The table below describes how your Attendance Allowance (AA) and the care component of your DLA is affected when you move into a care home.
| Situation | Effect on the care component of DLA and AA |
|---|---|
| Your local Trust is helping you with your care home fees. | It will be paid for the first four weeks (if you were already entitled to receive it before moving into a care home). |
| You local Trust is not helping you with your care home fees (self-funding). | It will usually continue. |
| You are in the first 12 weeks of your permanent stay in a home and your property is not being counted as capital for this period. Your local Trust is helping you with your fees for this period and you will become self funding from the 13th week (or earlier if the property is sold). | It will be paid for the first four weeks of your stay in a care home and will restart from the 13th week or when you start self-funding. |
Income Support and Pension Credit
If your move into a residential care or nursing home will be permanent and you are claiming Income Support or Pension Credit as a couple, you should now claim as separate individuals.
Your local Trust will expect you to claim any Income Support or Pension Credit that you are entitled to and will help you apply. These benefits will count as income when your contribution to your residential care or nursing home fees is assessed.
If your stay is temporary, you can continue to claim Income Support or Pension Credit for up to 52 weeks.
Housing Benefit
If you are in a home for a short break or for temporary care, you can continue to receive Housing Benefit for up to 52 weeks. If you are in a home on a trial period, your Housing Benefit for housing costs will stop if your trial period exceeds 13 weeks.
State pension
Moving into a home will not affect your State Pension but it will be counted as income when your contribution to your fees is assessed.
Carer's Allowance
Moving into a home may affect your Carer’s Allowance or the Carer’s Allowance of someone who looks after you. You need to tell Carer’s Allowance about the move. Carer's Allowance will work out if benefit will continue.
Carer's Credit
Moving into a home may affect your Carer’s Credit or the Carer’s Credit of someone who looks after you.