Deferred payments
What does Universal Deferred Payment Agreement mean to me?
From April 2015 deferred payment agreements will be available across the whole country. This means that people should not have to sell their homes to pay for residential care in their lifetime.
Wakefield already had a Deferred Payment Agreement scheme. This has been expanded to meet the Care Act requirements.
A deferred payment agreement is an arrangement with us that will allow some people to use the value of their homes to fund residential care home costs. If you meet the conditions, you are likely to contribute to some of the fees from your income.
For example you would contribute income such as personal pensions and welfare benefits such as pension credit. We will pay any remaining residential care home costs on your behalf until you are able to repay these amounts back to us.
You can delay repaying us until you choose to sell your home, or until after your death.
Deferred payment agreements will suit some people’s circumstances better than others. The Care Act allows councils to charge interest on the amount owed to them, and to charge a fee for setting this arrangement up.
In a nutshell:
If you own a property and you need to go into residential care, you can put off paying for care until after you die;
- we will pay towards the care home bills and will get our money back when your home is sold
- any money left over once the debt has been paid will return to your financial estate
- we will charge a low rate of interest (as set by the Government)
- you can choose to sell your home and pay off your debt early if you wish. We will contact you about your Deferred Payment Agreement regularly
- we will also discuss with you whether your property is worth enough to cover your debt
If you have a lot of savings and investments, your council may not offer the scheme to you until you are at risk of having to sell your home (which will be when your savings drop below £23,250).
For more details on Deferred Payments please download our leaflet.
Who do I contact for an assessment?
A deferred payment agreement is only one way to pay for care. To find out about more options available, you should do one of the following:
- speak to an independent financial adviser
- seek advice from an independent organisation such as the Money Advice Service
If you need further help or support, please contact Social Care Direct using the information below.