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  2. Benefits and money
  3. Benefits and financial support
  4. In retirement

Residential care and nursing homes and benefits

A permanent or temporary stay in a residential care or nursing home can affect your benefits. Below are a list of benefits and how they may be affected if your stay is permanent or temporary.

Benefits and home fees

If you are receiving benefits and your circumstances change, you need to tell your local Jobs and Benefits office. You will probably have to contribute most benefits you get towards your home fees.

  • Jobs and Benefits offices

Moving into a home should not affect the mobility component of your Disability Living Allowance (DLA). It will also be disregarded when your local Trust is calculating how much you should contribute towards the cost of your care.

  • Health and Social Care Trusts

If your local Trust is funding your residential care or nursing home fees, both the care component and the mobility component of your DLA may be affected. You should contact the office that normally pays your DLA for further information.

The table below describes how your Attendance Allowance (AA) and the care component of your DLA is affected when you move into a care home.

Situation Effect on the care component of DLA and AA
Your local Trust is helping you with your care home fees. It will be paid for the first four weeks (if you were already entitled to receive it before moving into a care home).
You local Trust is not helping you with your care home fees (self-funding). It will usually continue.
You are in the first 12 weeks of your permanent stay in a home and your property is not being counted as capital for this period. Your local Trust is helping you with your fees for this period and you will become self funding from the 13th week (or earlier if the property is sold). It will be paid for the first four weeks of your stay in a care home and will restart from the 13th week or when you start self-funding.
  • Disability Living Allowance
  • Attendance Allowance

Income Support and Pension Credit

If your move into a residential care or nursing home will be permanent and you are claiming Income Support or Pension Credit as a couple, you should now claim as separate individuals.

Your local Trust will expect you to claim any Income Support or Pension Credit that you are entitled to and will help you apply. These benefits will count as income when your contribution to your residential care or nursing home fees is assessed.

If your stay is temporary, you can continue to claim Income Support or Pension Credit for up to 52 weeks.

  • Temporary stays in a residential care or nursing home

Housing Benefit

If you are in a home for a short break or for temporary care, you can continue to receive Housing Benefit for up to 52 weeks. If you are in a home on a trial period, your Housing Benefit for housing costs will stop if your trial period exceeds 13 weeks.

State pension

Moving into a home will not affect your State Pension but it will be counted as income when your contribution to your fees is assessed.

Carer's Allowance

Moving into a home may affect your Carer’s Allowance or the Carer’s Allowance of someone who looks after you. You need to tell Carer’s Allowance about the move. Carer's Allowance will work out if benefit will continue.

  • Carer's Allowance  

Carer's Credit

Moving into a home may affect your Carer’s Credit or the Carer’s Credit of someone who looks after you.

  • Carer's Credit

More useful links

  • Beginner's guide to benefits
  • Financial support
  • War Widow(er) Pension – gov.uk
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In retirement

  • 60+ SmartPass and Senior (65+) SmartPass
  • Attendance Allowance
  • Carer's Allowance
  • Cold Weather Payment
  • Energy saving grants
  • Free TV licences
  • Help with health costs
  • Lone Pensioner Allowance
  • Over 80 Pension
  • Paying your residential care or nursing home fees
  • Pension Credit
  • Pensions and retirement planning
  • Residential care and nursing homes and benefits
  • Tax and allowances in retirement
  • Understanding Pension Credit
  • Winter Fuel Payment
  • Your home, assets and residential care or nursing home fees

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What to do next

Comments or queries about angling can be emailed to anglingcorrespondence@daera-ni.gov.uk 

If you have a comment or query about benefits, you will need to contact the government department or agency which handles that benefit.  Contacts for common benefits are listed below.

Carer's Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912
Email 
dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Discretionary support / Short-term benefit advance

Call 0800 587 2750 
Email 
customerservice.unit@communities-ni.gov.uk

Disability Living Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912 
Email dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Employment and Support Allowance

Call 0800 587 1377

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Contact your local Jobs & Benefits office

Personal Independence Payment

Call 0800 587 0932

If your query is about another benefit, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

Comments or queries about the Blue Badge scheme can be emailed to bluebadges@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk or you can also call 0300 200 7818.

For queries or advice about careers, contact the Careers Service.

For queries or advice about Child Maintenance, contact the Child Maintenance Service.

For queries or advice about claiming compensation due to a road problem, contact DFI Roads claim unit.

If you can’t find the information you’re looking for in the Coronavirus (COVID-19) section, then for queries about:

  • Restrictions or regulations — contact the Department of Health
  • Travel advice (including self-isolation) — contact the Department of Health
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations — contact the Department of Health or Public Health Agency

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk and for queries about your certificate, email covidcertni@hscni.net.

For queries or advice about criminal record checks, email ani@accessni.gov.uk

Application and payment queries can be emailed to ema_ni@slc.co.uk

For queries or advice about employment rights, contact the Labour Relations Agency.

For queries or advice about birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates and research, contact the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) by email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk

For queries about the High Street Spend Local Scheme,  email HSSS.mail@economy-ni.gov.uk.

For queries about:

  • Car tax, vehicle registration and SORN
    contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Swansea
     
  • Driver licensing and tests, MOT and vehicle testing
    contact the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA), Northern Ireland

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk.

 

For queries or advice about passports, contact HM Passport Office.

For queries or advice about Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), including parking tickets and bus lane PCNs, email dcu@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about pensions, contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

If you wish to report a problem with a road or street you can do so online in this section.

If you wish to check on a problem or fault you have already reported, contact DfI Roads.

For queries or advice about historical, social or cultural records relating to Northern Ireland, use the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) enquiry service.

For queries or advice about rates, email LPSCustomerTeam@lpsni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about  60+ and Senior Citizen SmartPasses (which can be used to get concessionary travel on public transport), contact Smartpass - Translink.

If you have a question about a government service or policy, you should contact the relevant government organisation directly.  We don't have access to information about you.

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