GillyK’s question about assets & care eligibility
 

I wonder if there are any ex-pats who are in the same boat we are in? We have lived abroad for 15 years and now, at ages 81 and 77, wish to return to the UK where my partner could receive the care he needs as a stroke victim and which we have to pay for where we presently reside, in South Africa. However, on a recent visit to Citizens Advice in the UK, I'm under the impression that we would not receive care unless we paid for it if we have jointly more than £24 000 in assets. All our assets in South Africa would have to go towards buying a house, or on a shared-ownership basis, in order to get the required care. This would leave us with the £24 000 to live on as the only other income we would have would be the state pension. Does anyone else have these concerns and if so what have you been able to do about it? Many thanks.

Re: GillyK
 

Re: GillyK’s question about assets & care eligibility
 

Re: GillyK
 

Yes, both UK citizens. Thanks.

Re: GillyK’s question about assets & care eligibility
 

As it is a shared income, it would assessed as 50% for each, 12,000, at least that is how they worked out my parents savings when they returned to the UK. My sister also created a separate account for my Dad, so his pension would only go into that account. The sale of house in South Africa would be assessed in the same manner. It will take time for some benefits to be applied as some require you to be resident for 6 months even if your are UK citizens.
My Mum went straight into private nursing home which was about 5,000 a month at the time (4 yrs ago), Once her savings hit 21000, then the fees were slowly reduced. If she had been the same nursing home, once she hit 16000, then the full government benefit would have covered about 50% or less of the fees. She was lucky to get a place in local council home about a year after her return but they are very few and far between. Even, then there are expenses associated with those nursing homes, so any income your husband has will be assessed for that ie his state pension or any other pension will go to the cost of the nursing home. Not sure how it works with a married state pension as both my parents had separate pensions. Hope that helps

Re: GillyK’s question about assets & care eligibility
 

Thanks for your reply. I realise that any assets we have in SA would have to go into a house in order to reduce our income. It means that if you have only £24 000 left then once that is gone in living and care expenses then you would be totally dependent on the state, a parlous state.

Re: GillyK’s question about assets & care eligibility
 

Re: GillyK’s question about assets & care eligibility
 

I think you have misunderstood my point about the house. If your property is in both your names, ( parents jointly owned their house) any income you derive from it will be split 50/50. They won't stop you buying a house with the money but they can put a lien on it to collect any money owed by the person in care, collected at a later point. So you should try to sell the house before you leave South Africa and put any money into a separate account for yourself.

Re: GillyK’s question about assets & care eligibility
 

Thanks!

Re: GillyK’s question about assets & care eligibility
 

Re: GillyK’s question about assets & care eligibility
 

If I have capital of more than £24 000 then I have to pay for care myself and wouldn't qualify for carer's allowance. Hence the reason for putting our money into a house which, as long as I am living in it with my husband, they couldn't insist on selling if he had to go into a nursing home.

Re: GillyK’s question about assets & care eligibility
 

Re: GillyK’s question about assets & care eligibility
 

this might well be a benefit that restricted when you first arrive. Took my sister about 6 months to get carer's allowance for my Dad who had a stroke just before he came back to the UK.

Re: GillyK’s question about assets & care eligibility
 

Hi Gilly. This fact sheet from Age UK may help to answer some of your questions. The information is applicable to England and Wales, links are provided for Age Scotland and Age NI
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalasset...abroad_fcs.pdfb