The short answer
- Only the savings above £23,250 are yours to spend downAt £23,250 the council starts to share the cost, so that is the line to count towards, not zero.
- The gap each week is what drains the savingsCare costs less pension and benefits left after bills. Small changes to hours move the answer by months.
- The house is not counted for care at homeIn England the home your parent lives in is left out of the means test for as long as they get care there.
- Ask the council before you reach the lineA care needs assessment is free whatever the savings. Asking a few months early means help starts on time.
The limits are England's for 2026 to 2027. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different rules for care at home, set out near the end of the page.
The short answer
One sum, three numbers
You need three figures: what your parent has in savings, what the care costs a week, and how much of their income is left over once the normal bills are paid.
- 1
Take £23,250 off the savings
In England a person with savings over £23,250 pays the full cost of their care. At or below it, the council can help (Care and Support Statutory Guidance, paragraph 8.12). What is above the line is the money that runs down first. - 2
Work out the weekly gap
The weekly cost of care, less the income left after food, bills and council tax. Attendance Allowance counts as income here, and it is not means-tested. - 3
Divide one by the other
Savings above the line, divided by the weekly gap, is the number of weeks. Divide by 52 for years.
Work it out
Put in your parent's numbers
Enter the savings and the income left after bills, then choose visits or live-in care. The weekly cost comes from what families pay on PrimeCarers, with our fee included.
Bank and building society accounts, ISAs, Premium Bonds and shares. Leave out the house they live in.
Pensions and benefits such as Attendance Allowance, less what the household already spends on food, bills and council tax. This is what is left to put towards care.
The care
Hourly rate
What families pay on PrimeCarers, with our fee included. 14 hours at £19.47 an hour.
- Care a week
- £272.58
- From savings a week
- £172.58
Savings reach £23,250 in about
4 years 1 month
212 weeks: £36,750 above the limit, at £172.58 a week.
A guide, not advice. Prices and income are held at today’s level, savings earn no interest, and the house is left out because it is not counted for care at home in England. Weeks are rounded down.
If you are not sure what to put in the income box, start with your parent's pensions and any Attendance Allowance, then take off a normal week's shopping, energy, water and council tax. If you would rather see what different kinds of care cost before choosing, the cost of care guide sets out hourly, overnight and live-in prices side by side.
Two worked examples
Visits and live-in care, worked through
The same sum, done for two common situations. The figures are examples, not averages. Change them in the calculator above to match your parent.
| Two hours a day of visits | A live-in carer | |
|---|---|---|
| Savings | £60,000 | £150,000 |
| Above the £23,250 line | £36,750 | £126,750 |
| Care a week | £272.58 (14 hours at £19.47) | £1,120 (a typical live-in week) |
| Income left after bills | £100 a week | £250 a week |
| Gap from savings | £172.58 a week | £870 a week |
| Weeks to the line | 212 weeks, about 4 years 1 month | 145 weeks, about 2 years 9 months |
Savings
- Two hours a day of visits
- £60,000
- A live-in carer
- £150,000
Above the £23,250 line
- Two hours a day of visits
- £36,750
- A live-in carer
- £126,750
Care a week
- Two hours a day of visits
- £272.58 (14 hours at £19.47)
- A live-in carer
- £1,120 (a typical live-in week)
Income left after bills
- Two hours a day of visits
- £100 a week
- A live-in carer
- £250 a week
Gap from savings
- Two hours a day of visits
- £172.58 a week
- A live-in carer
- £870 a week
Weeks to the line
- Two hours a day of visits
- 212 weeks, about 4 years 1 month
- A live-in carer
- 145 weeks, about 2 years 9 months
Hourly and live-in prices are what families pay on PrimeCarers with our fee included. Weeks are rounded down. No price rises, interest or tariff income are included.
The live-in example starts with far more savings and still reaches the line sooner, because the weekly gap is several times bigger. That is the pattern to expect: the weekly gap matters more than the size of the pot. Two hours of visits a day suits many people for a long time. Live-in care makes sense once someone needs help through the day and night, and once visits pass about 35 hours a week it is worth pricing live-in care alongside them.
The house
Why the house stays out of the sum
This is the question most families are really asking. For care at home in England, the answer is that the house your parent lives in is not counted at all.
Care at home
Never counted
A permanent care home place
Counted after 12 weeks
The rule for care at home is in the law and the guidance. The Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014 list the value of the main or only home of someone getting care other than in a care home as capital to be disregarded (Schedule 2, paragraph 6). The Care and Support Statutory Guidance says the same at paragraph 8.43 and in Annex B, paragraph 34(a): the value of the person's main or only home must be disregarded "where the person is receiving care in a setting that is not a care home".
So the calculator leaves the house out on purpose. A second home or a buy-to-let flat is different: it counts as capital, and you should add its value to the savings figure. The self-funding guide covers the care home rules and deferred payment agreements if a move is on the cards.
At the line
What happens when savings reach £23,250
The money does not have to run out before help arrives. At the upper limit the council's means test takes over, and your parent pays what the council works out they can afford.
- 1
Ask for a care needs assessment early
A few months before the lineIt is free and the council must carry it out whatever your parent's savings. Asking ahead means the council's share can start when the savings reach the limit, not weeks later. - 2
The financial assessment
The council looks at savings and income. The house your parent lives in is left out. If the council pays its share as a direct payment, your parent may be able to keep the carer they chose. - 3
Between £14,250 and £23,250: a sliding scale
The council counts £1 a week of income for every £250 of savings in this band, called tariff income, and adds it to what your parent pays (statutory guidance, paragraph 8.20). - 4
Under £14,250: savings are left alone
Only income is used. After any charge your parent must be left with at least the minimum income guarantee, so there is money for food and bills (paragraph 8.42).
These are the limits for 2026 to 2027, confirmed in the DHSC charging circular published on 17 February 2026. For care at home, councils may set higher limits if they choose but never lower ones, so it is worth asking your parent's council what it uses. The council funding guide explains the assessment and what to say.
What the sum leaves out
What this simple sum does not count
The calculator is deliberately simple, so you can check it on the back of an envelope. Here is what it leaves out, and which way each one moves the answer.
Price rises
Interest on the savings
Tariff income
The house
Needs going up
One-off costs
If you want a cautious answer, run the calculator a second time with more hours, or with the higher rate. If the two answers are far apart, plan around the shorter one.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Outside England, the rules are different
The £23,250 limit and the sum on this page are for England. The other three nations treat care at home differently, so the sum on this page does not work the same way there.
| Care at home | Source | |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | Personal care at home (washing, dressing, help with meals and medication) is free for any adult the council assesses as needing it, whatever their savings. Councils can still charge for practical help such as housework and shopping. | mygov.scot, updated 10 June 2026 |
| Wales | For care the council arranges at home, the most it can charge is £100 a week, and savings of £24,000 or less (not counting the home) are left out. A care home has a different limit, £50,000. | gov.wales, checked 6 November 2026 |
| Northern Ireland | Home help is free for people aged 75 or over. Below that age the Health and Social Care Trust decides any charge. Care home limits (£23,250 and £14,250) match England. | Department of Health home help guidance |
Scotland
- Care at home
- Personal care at home (washing, dressing, help with meals and medication) is free for any adult the council assesses as needing it, whatever their savings. Councils can still charge for practical help such as housework and shopping.
Wales
- Care at home
- For care the council arranges at home, the most it can charge is £100 a week, and savings of £24,000 or less (not counting the home) are left out. A care home has a different limit, £50,000.
Northern Ireland
- Care at home
- Home help is free for people aged 75 or over. Below that age the Health and Social Care Trust decides any charge. Care home limits (£23,250 and £14,250) match England.
Charging rules are set by each government and can change each April. Check with the council or trust before relying on a figure.
Questions
Questions about making the money last
Take her savings above £23,250 and divide by the weekly cost of care less the income she has left after bills. That is roughly how many weeks she pays in full before the council's means test starts to help. In England the house she lives in is not counted for care at home.
No. In England the home she lives in is disregarded in the financial assessment for care at home, for as long as she lives there. The house can only come into it if she moves permanently into a care home, and even then not for the first 12 weeks.
No. In England the council can help once savings are at or below £23,250. Between £14,250 and £23,250 your parent pays a share worked out on a sliding scale, and under £14,250 only income is looked at.
Yes, for this sum. It is paid whatever your parent's savings, so if they qualify it makes the money last longer. If they are not claiming it yet, a claim is usually the quickest way to slow the savings down.
No. It holds care prices and income at today's level and ignores interest on savings. Carers usually review their rates once a year, so if care costs rise faster than pensions the line will come a little sooner than the calculator shows.