In Northern Ireland, your local Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust runs both the needs assessment and the financial assessment for care — there's no separate council system the way there is in England, Scotland, or Wales. For residential and nursing home care, the rules closely mirror England's.
After a needs assessment, the Trust carries out a financial assessment and works out what you contribute:
You're assessed as able to pay for all your own care.
Treated as income of £1 a week for every £250 of savings in this band.
Capital is ignored entirely.
£34.10 a week — yours to keep and spend as you choose.
If the person you care for has assessed nursing needs in a nursing home, the Trust pays a flat £100 a week towards the nursing cost, on top of the arrangement above.
Your home counts as capital 12 weeks after a permanent move into a care home — but is disregarded if a spouse, partner, or certain close relatives still live there, or in other circumstances the Trust may agree to (including, in some cases, if your carer lives there). For a short-term or temporary stay, your home isn't counted as capital at all, and you may not get a full financial assessment for the first eight weeks.
Unlike the residential figures above, Northern Ireland's official guidance on how home care is charged is not laid out as clearly in one place — and this guide won't guess at a figure it can't confirm. Contact your local HSC Trust directly and ask specifically how domiciliary care is charged for your situation; practice can vary by Trust and by the type of support arranged.
Direct Payments — cash instead of Trust-arranged services, so you can choose your own support — do exist in Northern Ireland, though official guidance mostly describes them in the context of short respite stays (usually up to four weeks, with the Trust's agreement). If you want a Direct Payment for ongoing care rather than a short stay, ask your Trust about the full scope of eligibility rather than assuming it's respite-only.
The Entitlements Checker covers UK-wide payments and benefits alongside this Trust-level charging picture.
💰 Entitlements Checker 🇬🇧 UK Guide HubLast verified: October 2026, against the nidirect page as last modified 5 August 2026. Figures and Trust practice change — always verify current details directly with your local Health and Social Care Trust.
CarerCompass is free and independently run in spare time.
If it helped, you can support the project.