Paying for help at home

Use this guide to help you calculate the cost of your care and find information on the Minimum Income Guarantee.

Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG)

When receiving care and support in your own home, you're entitled to a Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG)  to ensure that you keep a level of income which covers your living costs.

This amount is set by the Department of Health and is reviewed annually. The amount that you are entitled to will vary depending on several factors, such as your age and whether you are married.

For the financial year 2020/21 the rates are as follows:

Individual MIG
Single person over the state pension age £209.06
Single person between 25 and the state pension age £155.31
Single person under 25 £136.31

If you're part of a couple, and either one or both of you are over the state pension age, your MIG is £144.30.

If the combined amount of your weekly income and earnings from capital are less than your MIG, you won't have to pay towards the cost of care in your own home.

If you have a disability, are a carer, or have a dependent child, then you will be entitled to extra premiums. The full breakdown of these rates are in the MIG weekly rates section.

You can also find more information about how much you are entitled to with your MIG from the Every Pound Counts service.