Your financial assessment

Following your care needs assessment, we will offer to complete a financial assessment to work out how much of that cost we can cover, and how much your financial contribution will be.

What is a financial assessment?

A financial assessment, or means test, works out if Hillingdon Council will pay towards the cost of your care. It does this by looking at how much money you have.

If you have capital of less than the current limit of £23,250 you may be entitled to financial support from the council to pay for the cost of your care.

A financial assessment is free and often happens after you have received a care needs assessment from the council's adult social care team.

What happens during a financial assessment?

You will be asked to complete a finance form and provide supporting evidence about your income and capital.

The quickest way to do this is by completing our online finance form.

You can also upload your supporting documents and submit them with the completed finance form.   

What the finance form will ask about

  • Your capital including any jointly held assets. Capital includes money held in bank accounts. Savings, investments, premium bonds, land, and property (including overseas property), and business assets.
  • Your income, which includes your state retirement pension, private pensions, and state benefits that you receive or are entitled to.
  • In all cases, employed and self-employed earnings are fully disregarded.
  • Your property and people who live with you.
  • Your housing costs.
  • Any disability related expenditure that you have, this is only applicable when financially assessing someone for a non-residential care service.
  • If you have disposed of any money, property, or assets including 'gifting' of money.
  • During the financial assessment you can be asked about things that you used to own, so it will not benefit you by reducing your wealth or giving away any property before your financial assessment.

If we think you have reduced your wealth on purpose, we may not provide you with any financial assistance towards your care costs.  

The financial assessment outcome

A financial assessment officer will carry out the calculation, in accordance with the Care Act 2014 legislation and statutory guidance to determine how much you should pay the council for your care costs.

You will be provided with a letter detailing how the calculation was carried out and a record of what you are expected to pay the council.

Page last updated: 05 May 2023