{"id":7929,"date":"2026-10-09T23:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T23:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visiting-angels.co.uk\/cheshire-east\/?p=7929"},"modified":"2026-10-09T23:13:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T23:13:08","slug":"how-long-will-savings-last-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visiting-angels.co.uk\/cheshire-east\/how-long-will-savings-last-care\/","title":{"rendered":"How long will your savings last paying for care?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Quick summary<\/b><\/h3>

Fifteen hours a week at \u00a336 an hour is \u00a3540 a week, or roughly \u00a328,000 a year before any benefits. Attendance Allowance and the Council Tax disregard can take several thousand off that. Council support starts when capital falls below \u00a323,250, and the house is not counted for care at home.<\/span><\/p>

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The basic arithmetic<\/b><\/h3>

Work in weeks rather than hours, because that is how the money actually leaves the account.<\/span><\/p>

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Care each week<\/b><\/p><\/th>

Weekly at \u00a336<\/b><\/p><\/th>

Yearly<\/b><\/p><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>

3 hours<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u00a3108<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u00a35,616<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

7 hours (1 a day)<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u00a3252<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u00a313,104<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

10 hours<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u00a3360<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u00a318,720<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

14 hours (2 a day)<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u00a3504<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u00a326,208<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

15 hours<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u00a3540<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u00a328,080<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

21 hours (3 a day)<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u00a3756<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u00a339,312<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

28 hours (4 a day)<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u00a31,008<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u00a352,416<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>

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Our rate is \u00a336 an hour with a one hour minimum visit, correct as at September 2026. Local averages are around \u00a335 in Macclesfield and \u00a339 across Cheshire East (Lottie, 2026), so the shape of this table holds whoever you use.<\/span><\/p>

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What most calculations get wrong<\/b><\/h3>

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  1. Care is paid out of income first, not capital.<\/b> The State Pension, private pensions and benefits all arrive weekly or monthly. Savings only cover the shortfall between income and the cost of care. A worked example is far more useful than a headline annual figure.<\/span><\/li>
  2. Benefits are not optional extras.<\/b> Attendance Allowance at \u00a3114.60 a week is \u00a35,959 a year, is not means-tested, and reduces the shortfall directly. The Council Tax disregard can be worth another \u00a32,000 or so.<\/span><\/li><\/ol>

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    A worked example<\/b><\/h3>

    Two visits a day, seven days a week, for someone with \u00a360,000 in savings.<\/span><\/p>

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    Item<\/b><\/p><\/th>

    Weekly<\/b><\/p><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>

    Care: 14 hours at \u00a336<\/span><\/p><\/td>

    \u2212\u00a3504<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

    State Pension (illustrative)<\/span><\/p><\/td>

    +\u00a3230<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

    Small private pension (illustrative)<\/span><\/p><\/td>

    +\u00a360<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

    Attendance Allowance, higher rate<\/span><\/p><\/td>

    +\u00a3114.60<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

    Living costs: food, heating, Council Tax, insurance (illustrative)<\/span><\/p><\/td>

    \u2212\u00a3150<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

    Shortfall drawn from savings<\/b><\/p><\/td>

    \u2212\u00a3249.40<\/b><\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>

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    At roughly \u00a3250 a week, \u00a360,000 of savings lasts around <\/span>four and a half years<\/b> before reaching the \u00a323,250 threshold at which council support begins to be considered.<\/span><\/p>

    Without Attendance Allowance, the shortfall is \u00a3364 a week and the same savings last around <\/span>two years<\/b>. That is the difference one non-means-tested benefit makes, and it is why our <\/span>guide to getting assessed<\/span><\/a> puts benefits before packages.<\/span><\/p>

    These figures are illustrative. Use the person’s real pension income and real outgoings, because both vary widely.<\/span><\/p>

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    Do your own version<\/b><\/h3>

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    1. Add up weekly income.<\/b> State Pension, private pensions, any benefits already in payment.<\/span><\/li>
    2. Add Attendance Allowance<\/b> if it is not yet claimed but would be awarded. Not means-tested.<\/span><\/li>
    3. Subtract normal living costs.<\/b> Food, utilities, Council Tax, insurance, phone, transport.<\/span><\/li>
    4. Subtract the weekly cost of care<\/b> from the table above.<\/span><\/li>
    5. The answer is the weekly shortfall.<\/b><\/li>
    6. Divide usable savings by the shortfall<\/b> to get the number of weeks. Divide by 52 for years.<\/span><\/li><\/ol>

      Usable savings means capital above \u00a323,250, since that is where council support comes into view.<\/span><\/p>

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      What happens as the money runs down<\/b><\/h3>

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