Could the Long-Term Care Scheme help you?

The Long-Term Care Scheme was created by the Government of Jersey to help Islanders with the costs of long-term care.

It’s designed for people who need a lot of help with daily activities and who will need that help for the rest of their lives. The scheme is open to help anybody aged 18 or above and who meets the residency criteria.

A range of help is available according to your individual needs and how much you can afford to pay towards your care costs. The scheme shares the cost of care, so if you can afford to do so, you will need to contribute part of your care costs. It’s designed so that families no longer need to sell their home to pay for the costs of care.

You may also request a loan against your home to help pay your share of care costs. This is to help people who have assets but no cash, however it is completely optional. Nobody will be forced to take out a loan against their property if they don’t want to.

How much do you need to pay?

The scheme works by limiting the amount you need to pay towards standard care costs during your lifetime but does not include the cost of living in a care home (board and lodgings). If you can afford to, you’ll need to pay this yourself in the same way you would pay your rent and bills if you lived in any other home.

How do you access the scheme?

If you think you need long-term care, the first step is to contact the Long-Term Care Team on 444444 or email them longtermcare@gov.je. There is also a helpful page about the scheme on gov.je: Long-Term Care Scheme.

Once you have made contact, the team will arrange for health professionals to assess your needs and advise you whether you are eligible to apply to join the scheme.

How is your entitlement worked out?

If you need help with care costs, they will do a financial assessment of you and your partner’s assets, income, investments, etc. to determine the level of help you are entitled to. They will also tell you how much you need to pay towards your costs and for how long.

How much of your assets can you keep?

The scheme protects assets up to a certain value, including the value of your home. For the full details of this please look at the gov.je page: Long-term care financial support routes

It’s important to be aware that there are laws that affect people who choose to give away property or assets, or transfer ownership of a property, even if the transfer takes place a long time before applying to the long-term care scheme.

What if you can afford to pay towards the care costs and don’t want to share your financial information?

If you know that you can afford to pay towards your care costs up front, you can still register even without giving financial information to the long-term care team. The team will tell you when you will qualify for the benefit. If you change your mind in the future, you can still ask for a financial assessment.

For general enquiries about the Long-Term Care scheme, visit Long Term Care Scheme, call the Long-Term Care Team on 444444 or email longtermcare@gov.je.