What Is a Social Care Financial Assessment and What Does Self-Funding Mean?
A social-care financial assessment, often called a means test, works out how much a person can afford to contribute towards chargeable care arranged through their local authority.
A social-care financial assessment, often called a means test, works out how much a person can afford to contribute towards chargeable care arranged through their local authority.
It comes after, or alongside, understanding the person’s care needs. It should not be confused with the needs assessment itself.
“Self-funder” simply means that, under the relevant charging rules, the person is responsible for the full cost of their social care. It does not mean they have no right to a needs assessment, information or help planning care.
What information will the council look at?
The council may ask about savings, investments, income, benefits, pensions and property where property is relevant to the type of care being provided.
Some income and capital must be disregarded under the rules, and the treatment of a home differs between care at home and permanent residential care.
Provide accurate information and ask for the written calculation if you do not understand how a figure has been reached.
The 2026/27 capital limits
In England, the upper capital limit is £23,250 and the lower capital limit is £14,250 for 2026/27.
Above the upper limit, a permanent care-home resident normally pays the full cost. Between the limits, the financial assessment assumes £1 a week of tariff income for each £250, or part of £250, above £14,250, in addition to assessable income.
Below £14,250, that tariff calculation from capital stops, although a contribution from assessable income can still apply.
For non-residential care, councils have discretion to operate more generous capital limits.
What income is somebody allowed to keep?
A financial assessment does not simply take every pound of income.
For permanent care-home residents supported by the local authority, the Personal Expenses Allowance provides an amount that must normally remain available for personal spending. For 2026/27 the statutory amount is £31.80 a week.
For care outside a care home, Minimum Income Guarantee rules protect a level of income after charges. The amount depends on age and circumstances and was increased for 2026/27.
These protected amounts are not intended to describe what a person actually needs for every individual expense, so raise relevant disability-related expenditure during the assessment.
What does self-funding change?
A self-funder can arrange care privately and contract directly with a provider.
They can still ask the council for a free needs assessment. NHS guidance also explains that people may ask a council to arrange care in some circumstances even where they pay the full cost, although councils can charge an arrangement fee in relevant cases.
Keep contracts, fee schedules and notice provisions. Care-home fees can change and additional charges may sit outside the headline weekly rate.
Should we give money away to get below the limit?
Do not transfer property, savings or other assets simply to try to qualify for council funding.
Where a local authority concludes that somebody deliberately deprived themselves of assets to reduce care charges, Care Act rules can allow the authority to treat them as still possessing the asset in some circumstances.
Genuine lifetime gifts and ordinary spending are not automatically deprivation. The issue is fact-specific, including intention and whether a need for care and charges could reasonably have been anticipated.
Take appropriate legal or financial advice before making significant asset decisions.
What if the calculation looks wrong?
Ask the council to explain which assets and income it has included, which disregards it applied and how the contribution was calculated.
Provide evidence of relevant expenditure or circumstances that may have been missed.
If you still disagree, use the council’s review or complaints process and consider independent advice. Do not allow a confusing calculation to remain unchallenged simply because the rules look technical.
Last reviewed
5 September 2026
Important informationThis guide provides general information about social care funding in England and is not intended to provide legal, financial, medical or other professional advice. Rules differ elsewhere in the UK and individual circumstances can be different. You may wish to check current information from official sources and seek advice from an appropriately qualified professional before making important decisions.