Numerous factors influence live-in care costs in the UK, including the recipient's health, prevailing conditions, and the chosen care provider. Weekly fees vary significantly across providers.

At Astute Home Care, our seasoned clinical director will conduct a thorough assessment of your needs during a home visit or at the hospital, if awaiting discharge. This assessment encompasses not only your care requirements but also your preferences and social needs for living comfortably at home. Subsequently, we'll furnish you with a tailored quotation for the most suitable live-in care package.

Our transparent pricing model entails a weekly all-inclusive rate, devoid of hidden charges. This simplifies annual cost planning for families, contrasting with care homes where charges comprise both care and accommodation, alongside additional monthly expenses for services like hairdressing, newspapers, therapies, and social engagements. Such complexities can hinder families in estimating total yearly care expenses.

Once the weekly fee is established, there won't be any unplanned hikes unless significant changes occur in the recipient's care needs. While yearly inflation adjustments in live-in care costs are standard across the sector, families should consider these for long-term planning.

Our live-in care costs start from:

£1,350 per week for a single person

£1,600 per week for a couple

Comparing residential care homes with the immense value of personalised care at home is challenging.

While care homes offer more staff availability, our clients who have experienced both assert that it cannot rival the individualised care and ongoing assistance provided by a live-in carer. For example, in a care home, each member of staff will look after several residents at one time, whereas with live-in care, care professionals provide one-to-one care or one-to-two for couples, yet the care is not several times more expensive.

For individuals, residential care home costs can commence at £1,160 weekly, while the average cost for a nursing home in the UK is approximately £1,410 per week.

Conversely, our live-in carer services for couples start from £1,600 per week. All our carers are trained to support individuals coping with complex medical conditions.

Income, Savings, and Assets.

You can use savings or assets such as buy-to-let rental and investment income to pay for live-in care or sell valuables to fund immediate care needs.

Equity Release.

There are an increasing number of fair, competitive, and well-regulated equity release products that provide a balance of funding to meet your immediate care needs and protect a portion of your home equity to pass on to your chosen beneficiaries. Brokers such as Responsible Life can provide impartial advice suited to your needs and review equity release options.

Care Annuity.

Purchasing a care annuity can provide a fast solution to funding care needs in part or full and buys time to make longer-term care decisions. An annuity is a type of insurance policy that pays the care provider directly; you exchange a lump sum of your pension for a regular tax-free income. You can read more about funding your care through a Care Annuity at Money Helper.

Social Care Funding.

This is a means-tested type of funding. In England, if the person seeking care has assets, including cash, investment property, or shares over the value of £23,250, they must fund their own care. If you are set on remaining in your home over that of a care home, your home is not counted among the assets assessed as part of the means test. Age UK provides useful information on means-tested care funding.

If accepted for social care funding, you can receive direct payments that give you control and autonomy over your chosen care provider rather than a council-appointed provider. If accepted for social care funding, you can receive direct payments that give you control and autonomy over your chosen care provider rather than a council-appointed provider.

NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC).

This is a specialist type of funding that is non-means tested; therefore, your assets or wealth are not considered during the assessment. This funding is for an individual living with notable health needs. To qualify and be awarded this funding, the individual needing care must complete a CHC assessment of personal needs which is scored using a grading system. You can usually arrange an assessment directly through your GP Practice. If you qualify, the care needed is usually fully funded.

Claiming Benefits.

An individual needing care may be eligible to claim benefits. For example, if you are living with a spinal injury, are unable to work, and are under the age of 65 years old, you could qualify for Personal Independence Payments (PIP).

Alternatively, you could qualify for Attendance Allowance if you are over 65 years old. More information on what benefits you may be eligible for when living with a disability or health condition are available on the government website.

If an individual has a confirmed Dementia diagnosis, they may be able to reduce their council tax liability. The Alzheimer’s Society provides useful information on claiming this benefit.

There are two types of live-in care available: fully managed and introductory. For your peace of mind, we’ve established the key differences below.

Fully Managed Care.

Fully managed live-in care is regulated by the Care Quality Commission. The care provider is responsible for the end-to-end management of care from start to finish—including acting as the main point of contact for advice and support. A managed care provider will screen, recruit, train, and supervise their carers directly to ensure care delivered to the clients meets regulatory requirements.

Introductory Care.

Introductory live-in care is an unregulated service where the agency will source and introduce you to a carer which you then employ directly. You are responsible for paying the carer's wages, tax, holiday pay, and allowances. You will usually pay the introductory agency a one-off introductory fee and an ongoing fee for advice and support.

• Fully Managed Care
• Care is contracted to the care provider and bears legal responsibility.
• Regulated by the Care Quality Commission.
• Experienced advice, support, and expertise in managing care.
• The care provider manages the carer with support from the experienced care team.
• The care provider will source an alternative carer in the event of sickness or unsuitability.

• Introductory Care
• Care is contracted by the client, who bears legal responsibility.
• Unregulated by the Care Quality Commission.
• The client is responsible for sourcing advice and support.
• The carer is managed directly by the client.
• The client is responsible for finding replacement carers in the event of sickness or unsuitability.

We will always do our best to enable you to make an informed and impartial decision regarding your care. Funding your care is a private matter that should always be tailored to your individual circumstances. We recommend speaking to a Society of Later Life Advisor (SOLLA) who are suitably experienced, qualified, and accredited to best understand your needs and provide impartial advice.

A lasting power of attorney (LPA) empowers one or more individuals to act on your behalf, making decisions when you're unable to do so.

It's the only way to ensure trusted individuals make crucial decisions for you if you're incapacitated. LPAs grant your chosen representatives full authority over your finances and/or your health and welfare, ensuring they act in your best interests when you're unable or unwilling to decide for yourself.

Implementing these measures now offers peace of mind and safeguards for you and your family in the future.

There are two main types of LPA:

• Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare

• Lasting Power of Attorney for Property and Financial Affairs

Before seeking advice on your or your loved one’s care, it's essential to ensure your legal affairs are in order. If you're planning to manage any aspect of someone's care on their behalf, whether financially or by engaging a care provider, you'll need to provide evidence of your legal authority through a Power of Attorney (POA) document.

Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare:

Plan ahead by appointing one or more individuals to make decisions about your healthcare and welfare. With a health and welfare LPA, you can grant authority to decide on various aspects, including consenting or refusing specific healthcare treatments, deciding on living arrangements, and managing support services.

Lasting Power of Attorney for Property and Financial Affairs:

This allows you to designate individuals to make decisions about your property and financial matters on your behalf. With this type of LPA, you can empower trusted individuals to handle your finances and property both while you have capacity and if you lose capacity. For instance, you can authorize them to pay bills, manage bank accounts, handle benefits, or sell property.

Other considerations:

Most reputable care providers require evidence of a POA during the care assessment process to ensure smooth care management. You can find further information on setting up and registering a Power of Attorney on the government website.

If you've already registered a POA but don't have the paperwork readily available, don't worry. We can obtain it directly from the Office of the Public Guardian within five working days to streamline the process of setting up your care.

Numerous families find themselves responsible for funding live-in care independently, known as self-funding care. For such families, there exist avenues to alleviate live-in care expenses, such as a Care Fees Annuity—an insurance policy designed to cover care costs—or by unlocking capital in assets through an Equity Release scheme. Explore the Care Funding Guidance comprehensive guide to financing and funding live-in care here.