Deciding on care for yourself or a loved one is difficult enough without also untangling how it will be paid for. Care home fees in Wales work differently to the rest of the UK, and understanding the rules early can make a real difference to your financial position. This guide explains how funding and means testing work, what care actually costs, and how sensible planning can help protect the assets you have worked hard to build.
How Care Home Funding Works in Wales
In Wales, funding for a care home place depends on two separate assessments. First, your local authority carries out a care needs assessment to establish what type of care you require. Second, a financial assessment, or means test, looks at your income, savings and assets to decide how much you can afford to contribute.
If your needs are primarily health related rather than social, you may instead qualify for NHS Continuing Healthcare, which is not means tested at all. Getting early advice on wills, trusts and probate matters can help you understand where you stand before decisions need to be made quickly.
Wales vs England: Key Differences in Care Home Funding
Wales takes a simpler approach to means testing than England. Rather than an upper and lower capital limit, Wales uses a single capital threshold of £50,000, well above England's upper limit of £23,250. This means significantly more people in Wales qualify for at least some local authority support.
Wales also applies its own weekly rate for Funded Nursing Care, currently lower than England's, though this is offset by the more generous means test threshold overall. Neither country currently operates a lifetime cap on total care costs, so fees can continue for as long as care is needed.
The Welsh Means Test Explained
The Welsh means test looks at your capital, including savings, investments and property, along with your income from pensions, benefits and any earnings. If your capital is below £50,000, your local authority will contribute towards your care costs, though your income will still be assessed and used towards your contribution. If your capital is above £50,000, you will be treated as a self funder and expected to meet the full cost of your care.
Certain items are disregarded, including personal possessions and life insurance policies, and your home is not counted for the first 12 weeks of permanent residential care, or indefinitely if a spouse, partner, or certain qualifying relatives continue to live there.
What Care Home Fees Actually Cost in Wales
Care home costs in Wales vary by location and level of care required, but tend to run somewhat lower than the UK average, particularly in rural areas compared with cities. Across the UK, the average weekly cost of residential care is around £1,298, rising to roughly £1,535 for nursing care, with specialist dementia care often costing more. Fees in Wales are typically ten to fifteen percent below these figures. These are ongoing weekly costs with no overall cap, so even a modest care home stay can represent a substantial, sustained financial commitment for a family.
The Role of Local Authorities in Wales
Your local authority carries out both the care needs assessment and the financial means test, and arranges funding where you qualify. If the local authority is funding your placement but you want a more expensive care home, a relative or friend can pay a top up fee to cover the difference, provided the council first offers a suitable placement within its own budget. Local authorities in Wales must also reassess your finances if your capital falls to the £50,000 threshold, so support should begin without you having to leave your care home.
NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) in Wales
NHS Continuing Healthcare Wales is a fully funded package of care provided when someone is assessed as having a primary health need, rather than a primarily social care need. Eligibility is not based on diagnosis or where care is provided, but on the nature, complexity, intensity and unpredictability of your needs, assessed using a standard Decision Support Tool. If eligible for continuing NHS healthcare for adults in Wales, the NHS meets the full cost of your care and no means test applies. If you do not meet the CHC threshold but still need nursing input, you may still qualify for Funded Nursing Care towards the nursing element of your fees.
Funded Nursing Care in Wales
Funded Nursing Care, or FNC, is a fixed weekly contribution made by the NHS towards the nursing element of care for residents of a nursing home who do not qualify for full Continuing Healthcare. The current weekly rate for funded nursing care in Wales is £201.74, paid directly to the care home rather than to you. This is not means tested and applies regardless of your capital or income, though it only covers part of the overall weekly fee, with the remainder still assessed under the standard means test or met privately.
Protecting Assets from Care Home Fees: Legal Options
While there is no way to guarantee immunity from care home fees, legitimate steps can help protect assets for a spouse or family. A well drafted will, particularly one using appropriate trust provisions, can help ensure a share of the family home passes according to your wishes rather than being automatically counted in a survivor's means test. Reviewing your Will alongside a Lasting Power of Attorney ensures that, should you lose capacity, someone you trust can manage your finances and make care decisions in line with your wishes, rather than these being left to the local authority or the Court of Protection.
Deprivation of Assets: What the Welsh Rules Say
Deprivation of assets occurs when someone deliberately gives away or reduces their capital with the intention of avoiding care fees, for example by transferring a property or making large gifts shortly before needing care. Under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, local authorities can treat you as still owning assets you have deliberately given away, and there is no fixed time limit on how far back they can look. Where deprivation of assets Wales rules apply, the local authority can also pursue the person who received the asset for the shortfall in fees. This makes timing and intention critical, and any gifting or restructuring should be planned well in advance with proper legal advice rather than as a reaction to an impending care need.
When to Get Legal Advice
The earlier you take advice, the more options are usually available to you. If you are planning ahead, updating your will and putting a Lasting Power of Attorney in place should sit alongside any conversation about care. If a loved one has recently died and their estate needs to be dealt with alongside ongoing care costs for a surviving spouse, our probate and estate administration team can help clarify what is part of the estate and what is protected. If you are unsure whether a past gift could be treated as deprivation of assets, or want to understand your options before a care needs assessment takes place, speaking to a solicitor before any decisions are made is always the safer course.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the threshold for care home fees in Wales?
The capital threshold in Wales is £50,000. Below this figure, you should qualify for some local authority support, subject to an assessment of your income.
Is there a cap on care home fees in Wales?
No. There is currently no lifetime cap on care home fees in Wales, so a self funder may continue paying full fees for as long as care is needed.
How to avoid care home fees in Wales?
There is no way to entirely avoid genuine care costs, but proper estate planning, including wills and trusts, combined with early legal advice, can help protect some assets while remaining within the rules on deprivation of assets.
Do you have to sell your house to pay for care in Wales?
Not always. Your home is disregarded for the first 12 weeks of permanent care, and indefinitely if a spouse, partner or qualifying relative still lives there. A deferred payment agreement may also delay a sale.
Who pays for care home fees in Wales if you have no money?
If your capital is below £50,000 and you have little or no income, your local authority will fund your care, though it will use most of your income towards the cost, leaving a small personal allowance.
What is NHS Continuing Healthcare in Wales and who qualifies?
NHS Continuing Healthcare Wales is fully funded NHS care for people whose needs are assessed as primarily health related, based on the nature, complexity and intensity of those needs rather than diagnosis. It is not means tested.
Can I put my house in trust to avoid care home fees in Wales?
Placing your home in trust purely to avoid future care fees is likely to be viewed as deliberate deprivation of assets, particularly if done shortly before a care need arises. Any trust arrangement should be planned well in advance for genuine reasons, with proper legal advice.
If you would like to discuss protecting your assets or planning ahead for care costs, our team would be happy to help. Contact our offices in Pontypridd, Talbot Green or Swansea to arrange a conversation with our wills, trusts and probate team.
