DEFERRED PAYMENT SCHEME

Subject to the approval of their local authority, individuals who wish to postpone the sale of their assessable property can do so under the deferred payment agreement. The aim is to allow people with property, but without income and other assets sufficient time to meet their full assessed contribution, to have a legal charge placed on their property to meet any shortfall for the duration of the exempt period.

Councils have the discretion over whether or not to agree to defer payments in individual cases and a person may only enter into a deferred payment agreement once the 12 week property disregard period has been completed.

Individual agreements should be put in writing and should state categorically that the resident or their estate will repay the full amount of the deferred contributions following the end of the exempt period, usually 56 days after the death of the resident.

Deferred payments do not apply to individuals entering care on a temporary basis and should not be used in place of any other discretionary property disregards as set out in the Charging for Residential Accommodation Guidelines, for example, if the property is occupied by a spouse.

Individuals who are refused a deferred payment will be notified of the reason in writing by the council and a copy given to the resident with information regarding how to complain or comment on the decision.

Residents seeking deferred payments are advised by councils to seek independent financial advice and in our opinion, this option is rarely of benefit to care residents. We would therefore recommend anyone contemplating this approach to contact the Helpline for further guidance

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