Paying for all your own care (self funding)

Explore your options if you've got to pay for your care yourself.

What it means to be a self funder

If you have more than £23,250 in savings and investments, we class you as a self funder. This means you must pay all your own care and support costs, with no financial help from us.

As a self funder you can either:

  • arrange your own care
  • ask us to arrange your care, at an extra cost

However you choose to arrange your care, you must pay for all of it.

Find out if you’re eligible for care

If we haven’t looked at your care needs yet, request a care needs assessment.

We'll only be able to arrange care for you if you meet our eligibility criteria.

If we’ve assessed your needs and agreed a care plan with you, we'll then assess your finances.

Learn more about how we assess your finances

Arranging your own care

If you've had a care needs assessment that shows you're eligible for care, we'll put together a care plan for you. A care plan gives details of the type and amount of care you need.

If you decide to arrange your own care, you'll be responsible for finding your care providers and making sure you pay them on time.

You can compare care and care home services using:

Asking us to arrange your care for you

If you have eligible needs and are going to receive care in your own home, you can ask us to arrange your care for you, even if we can’t help you pay for it.

We'll charge you the following for this service:

  • a one-off set-up fee of £372
  • a weekly management fee of £18.60
  • a bill every 4 weeks for the full cost of your care

Cancelling the service

If you decide you no longer want us to arrange care for you, you can cancel at any time, with a month's notice.

Plan your care budget

Make sure you know how much your care is likely to cost, so you can put enough money aside to pay for it.

The cost of a carer in your home

Having someone to care for you in your own home will cost:

  • about £22 an hour if they visit you
  • between £800 and £1,600 a week if they live with you

Learn more about paying for care in your own home

The cost of a place in a care home

A room in a care home costs:

  • from around £900 a week in a residential home
  • from more than £950 a week in a nursing home

Learn more about different types of care home

Find out what you can get for free

You may be able to get some care for free, such as:

You might not have to pay anything if you:

  • are receiving care under Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983
  • have Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)

Claim any benefits you're entitled to

Make sure you claim any state benefits you're entitled to. These could boost your income and help you pay for your care or support.

Get help and advice from an expert

We cannot advise you about your money or how to pay for care. We recommend you get independent financial advice from an expert.

There are local organisations you can speak to for advice about benefits and care providers, including:

You can also find guidance and links to other organisations on Sutton Information Hub.

Ask for another financial assessment if your savings fall below £23,250

If you're a self-funder and your savings and investments fall below £23,250, you can ask us to assess your finances again.

You'll need to carry on paying the full cost of your care until we tell you otherwise.

Contact the financial assessment team

Get in touch if you want us to assess your finances again.