Even if you have paid National Insurance contributions all of your life, you may still need to pay for your long term care. This may be quite a hard pill to swallow.

Unfortunately, National Insurance contributions only count to things such as your State Pension, not the cost of care. 

You may not have to pay for all of your care costs but you may have to make a contribution to them. Here is how this is worked out by your local authority. 

After you have had a care needs assessment, your local authority will determine whether or not you need care. If you do then they will then do a financial assessment on you, this is what is known as a means test. 

A means test will take into account your savings and income and from there, the council will decide if you have to pay anything toward the cost of your care. 

There are brackets that determine how much you have to pay for your care. You can find out more about these brackets by contacting your local council's social services department. 

Just remember that even if you have to pay for your care, the freedom and independence that it will give will greatly outweigh the negatives of having to pay for it.

The care that you receive will allow you to live in your home for longer and ultimately be safer and more comfortable while you are there. 

We hope that this has helped you understand means testing. Please explore our website further where you can find more information on this topic and many others.