How does a deferred payment agreement work?

A deferred payment is a loan from us that uses your home as a guarantee that we will get the money back.

You will still pay the weekly contribution towards your care that you have been assessed as being able to pay from your income and other savings, but we will pay the part of your weekly costs that you can’t afford.

We will pay your care costs up to a maximum total amount. The maximum amount will usually be 80–90% of the value of your share in your property, but this may vary. If the total amount deferred reaches the maximum amount and you are unable to pay your own costs, you may become eligible for funding from us. We will only pay up to the amount we have agreed to meet your assessed needs. If you, or someone on your behalf, have been paying an extra amount towards the cost of more expensive care than we have assessed that you need, the payments would need to continue or you may have to move to a different residential care setting. You will still need to pay a weekly contribution to the cost of your care.

The deferred payment is usually paid back by selling your home and using the money to repay the loan. You can choose to sell your home and repay the loan at any time, or you can keep your home during your lifetime and the deferred payment will be repaid out of your estate after your death.

You can also pay the debt back in another way if you prefer.

If you rent out your home while you have a deferred payment agreement in place, we will expect you to use the rental income towards the cost of your care to reduce the amount of the deferred payment.