Tips for financing care: Housing benefit, care housing benefit and assistance with care – what state aid is possible?

A place in a nursing home is becoming increasingly expensive. In North Rhine-Westphalia, costs have risen to an average of 2,858 euros per month in recent months. More and more people are unable to cover these large sums from their own income and assets and therefore have to seek help from the state. In NRW there are various benefits that can be applied for. These include “housing benefit”, “care living allowance” and “assistance with care”. The social welfare office checks whether the requirements are met. “It’s complicated,” says nursing law expert Verena Querling from the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center and explains which state aid is the right one and when. A new brochure from the consumer advice center is also available.

Keyword housing benefit: Housing benefit is a subsidy towards rental costs. Home residents are also entitled to this under certain conditions. Housing benefit is available if the rental costs cannot be covered from your own income or assets. The calculation of income is done individually. Savings, real estate or other values ​​are considered assets. The protective assets are usually 60,000 euros; for partners it is 90,000 euros. This means that assets up to this amount are excluded from the calculation and are protected. The personal and economic circumstances must therefore be communicated in the application. In addition, those receiving housing benefit are not allowed to receive other social benefits such as assistance with care. How high the housing benefit ultimately is depends on the rental costs. These result from the rent level in the region in which the home is located.

Keyword nursing housing allowance: In North Rhine-Westphalia there is the so-called nursing living allowance. This can be used to finance part or all of the costs in the nursing home, namely the investment costs. Residents of a nursing home with care level 2 or higher can receive nursing housing benefit if they have a financial need. When calculating your needs, the social welfare office checks whether your own income is sufficient to cover the costs in the nursing home. Assets are also used in the calculation. The protection amount here is 10,000 euros; for partners it is 15,000 euros. Under certain circumstances, additional assets are protected. This can also be real estate if it is appropriate and continues to be lived in by the partner. Care housing benefit requires that there is only a gap equal to the investment costs. Your own financial resources must therefore be sufficient to pay the other costs yourself.

Help with care: If your own income and assets are not sufficient to finance the remaining costs in the nursing home, you may be entitled to help with care. Here too, the social welfare office first checks whether there is a need. The prerequisite is that income and assets are not sufficient to cover the home costs. With a few exceptions, all income and assets must be used to cover home costs. There is a protection amount of 10,000 euros, or 20,000 euros for two people. In addition, under certain conditions, additional protective assets are taken into account. In individual cases, this can also be real estate.

Application: All three state aids should be applied for early. The benefits are only granted from the time the application is submitted - i.e. in no case retroactively. All three state aids must be applied for at the social welfare office. Relevant application forms are also available online. If you are unsure, you can ask the care facility, social welfare office, care advice centers or care support centers for support. If you have specific questions about income and assets - such as how to calculate income, reclaim donations or protective assets - it is advisable to contact a lawyer specializing in family law or social law.