Benefits

[emmie]

asking on behalf of a friend, does anyone know what benefits if any
can a pensioner get if they are in a care home. He has a state pension, but is there anything else he might be entitled to. I could look up Gov site, but thought maybe i could get a clearer answer on AB

[emmie]

she can't have him live with her either, mostly because she works full time and has a youngish family.

[EDDIE51]

A lot of claims for benefits have a time limit, there is a limit to how far a claim can be backdated. You need to get your friend working on this she can lose a lot of money by putting things off.

[black_cat51]

1) yes, he most likely would be able to get attendance allowance (not that it will go very far to paying care home fees)
2) is he in a nursing home or a care home without nursing? (this is very very important for a number of reasons)

[emmie]

every move she has made on this has brought major barriers, i can't give you all the details because i am not there, nor likely to be for a time, also that i don't have all the facts because when we e mailed each other, there was only so much she could explain. I have tried to help, but am at a distance, my knowledge can stand me in reasonable stead of the benefits system, but she has come across a situation which is alien, and it looks like all the relevant services are dragging their backsides, and her dads bank has been a complete bunch of w ankers. she proved beyond a reasonable doubt that she is next of kin, yet will not give details of her dad's account, what's in it, or anything, until she has power of attorney, perhaps that is fair, but it must be galling, because without POA she has no choice but to pay the care fees. All the agencies concerned have failed spectacularly. If it were me i would on their backs, and go down there banging on the doors, but she is not able to, with full time work, family commitments, and all sorts of other stuff i can't go into.
I worry because i think she will lose a lot of her own money over this.

[black_cat51]

if the dad needs care, and she simply refuses to pay, will the local authority step in? I presume he is a self-funder from what you say. If it is a care home with nursing, then the NHS might pay some (currently about 100 pw) in a payment called funded nursing care. this is for people who need their care overseen by a registered nurse, but don't have access to district nurses (basically people in care homes WITH nursing, but not those in residential homes). Eddie is referring to continuing healthcare, which is when the NHS pays for the entire cost of being in a care home (or receiving care at home). You have to be very ill indeed to get this - just needing supervision, or help with washing/dressing/feeding and normal social care needs does not cut it. I presume when the deputyship or POA are sorted, the dad can pay her back from his available money, or more likely she can pay herself back from his money

[emmie]

i don't know a lot about the type of care home, her dad may have savings, but may not, and she is not sure whether his state pension is going into it,
that's part of the problem, the bank won't release details of his accounts until she can get POA, and that is taking it's time. So the care home needs paying, so she is funding it herself, does that make sense?

[emmie]

thank you, i will forward your answer by e mail, i won't include your user name just the advice and see what is happening.