Who counts as a couple
Married couples, civil partners, and two people living together as a couple for at least three years are all assessed as a couple. If you are separated and living apart, you are assessed as a single person.
How the maths works
Add both incomes together and both sets of assets together. The applicant is then assessed on half of each.
- Income: 80% of half the combined income, which is 40% of the total
- Assets: 7.5% of half the combined assets, which is 3.75% of the total, after a €72,000 allowance
- The family home: capped at three years, so never more than 11.25% of its value
A couple with €700 a week in combined pensions, €80,000 in savings and a home worth €300,000 would see the applicant pay roughly €280 from income, €6 from savings and €216 from the home: about €500 a week for three years, then about €286.
What the partner at home keeps
The person still living at home is left with at least half of the couple's income, and the €72,000 allowance is applied before any asset is counted. The home can stay exactly as it is. If the nursing home loan is used to defer the property portion, repayment is deferred further while the partner is still living there.
Questions families ask
Does my own pension get taken if my husband goes into care?
Half of the combined income is assessed, so your income is part of the calculation, but you always keep at least half of the couple's total income.
We own the house jointly. Is the whole value counted?
The full value goes into the combined assets, and the applicant is assessed on half of it, for three years only.
What if both of us need care?
Each of you is assessed as an applicant on half of the combined figures. Both applications can be made at the same time.