Paying for elderly care in Dorset

Paying for elderly care in Dorset

When you are considering the future care needs of a family member, there is a lot to think about. Not least how they will be paying for elderly care in Dorset.

If your parents or relatives need more care at home or to move to a care home, the first questions are likely to be: โ€œhow much?โ€ and โ€œwho pays?โ€. As well as the third unanswerable question: โ€œhow long for?”

Unless they are eligible for help from the Local Authority (currently this means having savings/assets of less than ยฃ23,250 in 2019/2020 in England), they, and you, will need to work out how best to manage the regular care bills โ€“ especially if your parents want to preserve some of their estate to pass on to the next generations.

What are the costs of paying for elderly care in Dorset?

For someone funding their own care in a residential home, costs are likely to be around ยฃ864 per week, or ยฃ44,928 per year. This is based on the average amount self-funders pay for a residential care home in the area of Dorset Council. The figures for the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council area are very similar. (Source: Fees paid by self-funders: LaingBuisson surveys of care homes 2018-19.)

Paying for care costs and fees without support from the Local Authority does have some silver lining. It does, for example, widen the choices in terms of the care you purchase.   However, maintaining sufficient funds to continue to pay care fees for an indefinite period does require careful planning. As โ€œself-fundersโ€, your parents could potentially use a range of sources to cover care fees. These might include:

Some ways of covering care fees

  • Pension savings, taken either as an income or as a lump sum withdrawal
  • Income from savings and investments
  • An Immediate Care Plan which is an annuity product specially designed to provide a top-up to income to meet care fees
  • Borrowing such as Equity Release and Lifetime Mortgages, although this option is only usually available for care in your own home
  • Rental income from a property

All you need to know about funding elderly care

Go to our Money section for a complete overview of all the care funding options available.ย  ย It also includes information on local authority assessments which are critical to determine the care and support needed and how it may or may not be funded.

Where can I get advice locally?

Dorset Council has an overview of funding residential care here.