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Home Finance Deferred payment agreements barely scratch surface of real need

Deferred payment agreements barely scratch surface of real need

by Staff GBAF Publications Ltd
  • A deferred payment agreement is an arrangement with the local council that lets people use the value of their homes to help pay care home costs. It means they do not need to sell their home during their lifetime to meet care costs.
  • To qualify you must live in a care home and the value of your assets (excluding your home) must be less than the upper means tested limit -currently £23,350.
  • 2605 new DPAs were agreed during 2020/21 with a value of £47m.
  • As of March 31 2021 there were 6435 DPAs outstanding at a value of £237m.
  • 1385 DPAs were not provided either due to local authority reasons or client reasons.

NHS Digital has released information on Deferred Payment Agreements for 2020/21.

Deferred Payment Agreements – 2020-21 – NHS Digital

Helen Morrissey, senior pensions and retirement analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown:

“Deferred payment agreements (DPAs) have helped those most in need but only reach a fraction of those who pay enormous sums every month for care. Recent estimates put the number of self-funders in England at around 144,000 and while not all of those will be struggling it is clear the current 6435 DPAs in place barely scratches the surface.

Paying for care places an enormous financial strain on entire families – the data shows 1,955 DPAs in place covering costs of more than £500 per week. While a relatively short stay in a care home might be manageable, over time the costs can become impossible to bear.

Sajid Javid commented in the wake of the Social Care Levy announcement that government would make sure everyone will be able to access one of these agreements in future. This is welcome but hard-pressed families will be eager for more detail on when these arrangements can be made available to them.”

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