This guide covers England under the Care Act 2014. It is general information, not financial or legal advice. For your own circumstances, speak to your council's financial assessment team or an independent adviser.
When one half of a couple needs a care home, the usual fear is that the other half will lose the house or the savings. The rules are kinder than most families expect. The council can only assess the person who is moving into care, not the couple. The Care and Support Statutory Guidance says plainly that a local authority "has no power to assess couples or civil partners according to their joint resources".
That does not mean the partner at home is untouched. Joint savings are split, joint income is presumed to be shared, and the house is only protected for as long as someone qualifying lives in it. This article covers the couple-specific rules. For the general step-by-step calculation, see our care home means test guide.
Only the resident is assessed
Under the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014 and the statutory guidance, the financial assessment is based on the individual resources of the person who needs care. Their husband, wife or partner is not asked to contribute from their own money, and their own income and sole-name savings do not count towards the resident's assessment.
The guidance does ask councils to consider the implications for the partner who stays at home. In practice that shows up in three places: how joint savings are split, how joint income is shared, and which pension and property disregards apply. The next sections take them in turn.
How joint savings are treated
Where a couple holds capital jointly, such as a joint bank account, the guidance says the total should be divided equally between the owners. Each is treated as owning an equal share, unless there is evidence that the shares are unequal. Only the resident's half goes into their assessment.
This matters because of the 2026/27 thresholds. A resident with assessable capital above £23,250 pays the full fee. Between £14,250 and £23,250 they pay a contribution that includes tariff income of £1 a week for every £250 (or part of £250) above £14,250. Below £14,250, capital is ignored.
Worked example: joint savings
Tom moves into a care home. He and his wife Margaret have £40,000 in a joint account, and neither has other savings. The council treats Tom as owning £20,000. That is £5,750 above £14,250, so tariff income is £5,750 ÷ £250 = £23 a week. Tom is not a full self-funder, and Margaret's £20,000 share is not assessed.
Now suppose Tom also has £6,000 in an account in his own name. His assessable capital becomes £26,000, which is above £23,250, so he would pay the full fee until his capital falls below that limit.
What about the partner's own savings?
Money in Margaret's sole name is hers and is not counted. Be careful about moving joint money into her name once care is on the horizon. A council can treat a transfer as deliberate deprivation of assets if avoiding care charges was a significant motive. Our guide to deprivation of assets explains how councils judge this.
Income and the 50% pension rule
For income, the guidance sets a starting presumption that where the resident receives income as one of a couple, they have an equal share of it. Income is assessed net of tax. The resident's own State Pension, occupational pensions and other income go into the assessment, and the Personal Expenses Allowance of £31.80 a week is protected for them (see our PEA guide).
The most useful couple-specific protection is the pension disregard. Where a resident has a spouse or civil partner they do not live with, and pays at least half of their occupational pension, personal pension or retirement annuity to that spouse for their maintenance, the council must disregard 50% of that pension or annuity income.
Two limits apply. The disregard covers occupational and personal pensions and annuities, not the State Pension. And the guidance says it "does not automatically apply to unmarried couples", although a council may use its discretion in individual cases. If you are not married or in a civil partnership, ask for discretion in writing.
Worked example: the pension disregard
Take Tom again, using illustrative figures. He receives a State Pension of £200 a week and an occupational pension of £160 a week, and he sends at least half of the occupational pension to Margaret. The council disregards 50% of £160, which is £80. With £23 tariff income from the first example:
- Income counted: £200 + £160 + £23 tariff income = £383
- Less the pension disregard: £383 − £80 = £303
- Less the PEA: £303 − £31.80 = £271.20 a week towards his care
Without the disregard his weekly contribution would be £351.20. Check how your council applies it, because it is easy to miss on a first assessment letter.
The partner at home's own income
Margaret's own State Pension and any pension in her sole name are not assessed. The guidance also asks councils to consider whether the resident's PEA is enough to meet costs on a disregarded home, such as Council Tax, insurance, utilities and reasonable maintenance. If you are paying these from your own income, tell the assessor.
The home while a partner lives there
The mandatory property disregard applies where the home has been continuously occupied, since before the person entered care, by their partner, former partner (not estranged) or civil partner. It also covers relatives aged 60 or over, an incapacitated relative, or a child under 18. A spouse or partner at home therefore keeps the property out of the assessment entirely. Our guide on whether you have to sell a parent's house covers the wider picture.
Unlike the pension rule, the property disregard does cover unmarried partners. If the home is jointly owned, the resident's share is not counted while the partner lives there. The council does not need the house sold, and a Deferred Payment Agreement is not needed while the disregard applies.
When the property disregard ends
The protection lasts only while the qualifying person occupies the home as their main or only home. It stops if they die, move out permanently or move into a care home themselves. The council will then reassess, and the resident's interest in the property can count as capital.
What that interest is worth depends on how the home was owned and on any will. A surviving joint owner may own the whole property, so a resident who inherits their partner's share could suddenly have a large amount of capital. Take legal advice early. If the property is counted, a Deferred Payment Agreement can delay a sale. Our 12-week property disregard guide explains how the timing works, and the council should be told promptly about any change.
When both partners need care
If you both move into care, each of you is assessed on your own income and your own share of capital. There is still no joint assessment. Joint savings are split equally, and each person keeps their own PEA.
Two things change. First, the 50% pension disregard no longer applies, because the guidance covers a spouse who is not living in the same care home. Second, if nobody lives in the family home any more, the property disregard may no longer protect it, unless another qualifying person such as a relative aged over 60 lives there. Ask the council in writing how it has treated the home in each assessment.
RightCareHome's Funding Report shows how a council is likely to assess your family's income and savings, and what you would be left with, before you have to make a decision under pressure. You can also start with a free funding check.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the council count my savings if my husband or wife is going into a care home?
Only your husband's or wife's own share. Where savings are held jointly, the council treats each of you as owning an equal share, unless there is evidence of an unequal split. Money held in your sole name is not part of their assessment, although the council can challenge transfers made to avoid care charges.
Will I have to sell our house if my partner goes into a care home?
Not while you live there. A home occupied by the resident's spouse, civil partner or partner is disregarded in the financial assessment. The disregard can end if you die, move out or move into care yourself, and the council will then reassess.
What happens to my pension when my husband or wife goes into a care home?
Your own income is not assessed. If your spouse or civil partner in the care home pays at least half of their occupational or personal pension to you for your maintenance, the council must disregard 50% of that pension. This does not apply automatically to unmarried couples.
What if we both need care home places?
Each of you is assessed individually on your own income and your own share of capital. The council has no power to assess a couple on their joint resources. If you move into the same home, the 50% pension disregard no longer applies, because it only covers a spouse living elsewhere.
Does the 12-week property disregard still matter if my partner stays in the house?
Usually not, because the home is disregarded for as long as a qualifying person lives there. The 12-week disregard becomes important if that person later leaves or dies, or if nobody lives in the house when the first partner is admitted.
Sources
- Care and Support Statutory Guidance (Annex B: Treatment of capital; Annex C: Treatment of income; chapter 8: Charging and financial assessment), Department of Health and Social Care
- The Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014, legislation.gov.uk
- Age UK: Paying for a care home