Paying for care and support for disabled people with complex needs

This page tells you about the different ways your care and support can be paid as an adult with complex needs.

Unlike healthcare, the state does not cover the cost of all social care and support for everyone who needs it.

Ways your care and support can be paid for

1. Social services

  • Social services may pay the full or partial cost of your support, if you have eligible needs and low income and savings.
  • If you are eligible, you will be allocated a personal budget.
  • You will have a financial assessment to decide how much of your support will be paid by your local authority and how much you will need to pay yourself.
A woman in a hijab points to some paperwork, while a man sat next to her glances over

Personal budgets and direct payments

A personal budget is an amount of money that the local authority agrees to pay for your care. It can be paid as direct payments.

2. Health services

  • If your needs relate to your health, then the NHS should pay for your care and support.
  • Sometimes a package of care will be part-funded by health services and part by social services.
  • Some people will receive funding via Continuing Health Care (CHC).

3. You pay for yourself

  • You may have to pay for some, or all, of your care yourself.
  • You are only asked to pay what you can afford and must be left with a certain amount of money for yourself after the local authority has charged you.
  • At present, if you have assets (including income, savings and property) of more than £23,250, you will have to pay for your care and support needs yourself.
  • Social services may still arrange your care and support, but they may charge you for the services you receive.
  • Your council will do a financial assessment to determine how much, if anything, you should pay towards your support.

4. A combination of two or three sources

  • Sometimes a package of care will be part-funded by health services and part by social service – and you may need to contribute as well.

Support from Sense

We deliver personalised, creative and flexible support at every stage of life for disabled people with complex needs. Get in touch to find out more about the services we offer.

Our services

Stay in touch

A woman and her son lie on the floor, reading a book. The mother, Sarah, is smiling. The boy, Harry, who has blue glasses and an orange t-shirt on, is concentrating on the book.

Join over 100,000 people getting news about our vital work. Sign up to our mailing list and find out more about our work and other ways you can help.

Sign up today

This content was last reviewed in March 2026. We’ll review it again next year.