683,000 people in England were receiving council-arranged long-term adult social care at the end of December 2025, official data shows, including more than 1 in 9 people aged 85 and over. Council support is means-tested, standard insurance does not cover care costs, and self-funders sit on top of these figures entirely.
TL;DR · LAST REVIEWED 22 July 2026
- Department of Health and Social Care data shows 683,000 people receiving local authority arranged or provided long-term care in England on 31 December 2025, up from 662,000 in January, with 613,000 new care assessments during 2025.
- The age gradient is the planning fact: 11,260 per 100,000 people aged 85 and over receive council-funded long-term care, more than 1 in 9, against roughly 1 in 27 of all over-65s and under 1 in 100 working-age adults.
- These figures count only council-funded care: people paying privately for their own care, a substantial further group, are not included, so the true number receiving long-term care is higher.
- Council support is means-tested: in England, capital above £23,250 generally means paying the full cost of care, and the previously planned cap on lifetime care costs was scrapped in 2024.
- No mainstream pre-funded long-term care insurance products are sold in the UK, and private medical, critical illness and life insurance do not cover long-term care; immediate needs annuities are the main insurance product that exists, bought at the point care begins.
- The planning levers that do exist include Attendance Allowance, NHS Continuing Healthcare, deferred payment agreements and lasting powers of attorney.
Council-funded long-term care in England: who receives it and the means test that decides who pays
| People on council long-term care | 683,000 (31 December 2025) | Up from 662,000 in January 2025; 1,470 per 100,000 adults |
| Aged 85 and over | 11,260 per 100,000 | More than 1 in 9 of this age group |
| Aged 75 to 84 | 3,660 per 100,000 | Roughly 1 in 27 |
| Aged 65 to 74 | 1,630 per 100,000 | Roughly 1 in 61 |
| Aged 18 to 64 | 790 per 100,000 | Under 1 in 100 |
| Means test upper limit (England) | £23,250 | Capital above this generally means paying the full cost |
| New assessments in 2025 | 613,000 | People assessed having had no council support in the prior 12 months |
Source: DHSC adult social care client level data to December 2025 and Care Act charging rules
KEY FACTS
- 683,000 people receiving council-arranged long-term care in England on 31 December 2025, equal to 1,470 per 100,000 adults, with 613,000 assessments during 2025
- Settings: 486,000 supported in the community, 139,000 in residential care homes, 55,000 in nursing homes
- Age gradient: 11,260 per 100,000 aged 85 and over receive council long-term care, against 3,660 per 100,000 aged 75 to 84 and 790 per 100,000 under 65
- Means test in England: capital above £23,250 generally means self-funding; below £14,250 capital is disregarded, with tariff income between the two
- Regional range: 1,820 per 100,000 receiving long-term care in the North East against around 1,300 to 1,500 in most other regions
What does the new care data show
683,000 people were receiving council-arranged long-term care in England at the end of 2025, up 21,000 across the year, with growth concentrated in community care and 613,000 people newly assessed during the year.
The figures come from the Department of Health and Social Care's client level data, the first national collection built from individual social care records held by councils under the Care Act 2014. On 31 December 2025, 683,000 people were receiving long-term care arranged or provided by their local authority, 1,470 per 100,000 adults, and the number rose steadily through the year from 662,000 in January. The growth came from community-based support, home care and direct payments people use to arrange their own care, which reached 486,000 people, alongside 139,000 in residential care homes and 55,000 in nursing homes. Demand at the front door ran heavier still: 613,000 people received a care assessment during 2025 having had no council support in the previous year, peaking at 57,000 assessments in a single month. One caveat matters for every number in this article: the data counts only people whose care the council arranges or funds. The substantial population paying privately for home care or care home places, self-funders, sits outside these figures entirely, so the true number of people receiving long-term care in England is higher than anything shown here.
How likely are you to need long-term care
The age gradient in the data is steep: more than 1 in 9 people aged 85 and over receive council-funded long-term care, roughly 1 in 27 of those 75 to 84, 1 in 61 of those 65 to 74, and under 1 in 100 working-age adults, before counting self-funders.
For anyone thinking about their own or a parent's future, the most useful numbers in the release are the age rates. Among people aged 85 and over, 11,260 per 100,000 were receiving council long-term care at the end of 2025, more than 1 in 9 of the entire age group, and that is the floor rather than the ceiling, since self-funders, typically those with housing wealth or savings above the means test, are on top. The rate falls to 3,660 per 100,000 at ages 75 to 84 and 1,630 per 100,000 at 65 to 74, while working-age adults, mostly people with disabilities, sit at 790 per 100,000. Women outnumber men, 56% of recipients, reflecting longer lifespans. The practical reading is that needing care in later life is not a tail risk: for anyone who reaches 85, some period of formal care is a realistic mainstream outcome, and the financial question is not whether the risk exists but who pays if it lands, which is where the means test, and the near-absence of insurance, come in.
Who pays for long-term care in England
The council pays only after a means test: capital above £23,250 generally means paying the full cost yourself, the home can count for residential care after 12 weeks, and the planned £86,000 lifetime cap on care costs was scrapped in 2024, leaving costs uncapped.
The 683,000 people in this data are those who passed two gates: a needs assessment under the Care Act's national eligibility criteria, and a financial assessment against the means test. In England, a person with capital above £23,250 is generally expected to meet the full cost of their care; below £14,250, capital is ignored and only income is assessed, with a tariff income applied between the two limits. For care in a person's own home, the value of that home is disregarded; for permanent residential care it can be counted after the first 12 weeks, subject to disregards such as a partner still living there, which is why care costs and housing wealth are so entangled. Deferred payment agreements let a council secure costs against the property so it need not be sold in the person's lifetime. The reform that would have changed this arithmetic, the £86,000 lifetime cap on personal care costs legislated after the Dilnot reviews, was scrapped in 2024, so there is currently no upper limit on what an individual in England can spend on care across a lifetime.
Can insurance cover care costs
Mostly no. No mainstream pre-funded long-term care insurance is sold in the UK, and private medical, critical illness and life policies do not cover ongoing care; the main product that exists is the immediate needs annuity, bought when care actually begins.
This is the gap that surprises families most, and it is worth stating plainly. Private medical insurance covers acute treatment, diagnosis and surgery, not ongoing personal or nursing care; critical illness policies pay a lump sum on diagnosis of specified conditions, not for years of care needs; and life insurance pays on death, after the care bills have already been met. Pre-funded long-term care insurance, policies bought in advance against the possibility of needing care, was sold in the UK in the 1990s but insurers withdrew from the market, defeated by the difficulty of pricing decades-ahead care cost inflation and longevity, and no mainstream products have returned. What remains on the insurance side is the immediate needs annuity, also called an immediate care plan: a product purchased with a lump sum at the point care begins, paying a guaranteed income towards care fees for life, typically tax-free when paid directly to a registered care provider. It insures against living longer than expected in care rather than against needing care at all, and it is a regulated product where advice from a specialist later-life adviser is part of the process. For everyone else, care costs are met from income, savings, housing wealth and the means-tested state system, which is why the planning levers in the next section carry the weight insurance cannot.
What can you actually do to plan for care costs
The working levers are Attendance Allowance and NHS Continuing Healthcare, neither of which is means-tested, deferred payment agreements that stop forced home sales, lasting powers of attorney arranged early, and specialist advice before large sums are committed.
Several parts of the system are routinely missed. Attendance Allowance is a non-means-tested benefit for people over State Pension age who need help with personal care; it is paid regardless of savings or income, is not spent-down by the means test in the way capital is, and claiming it does not depend on the council being involved at all. NHS Continuing Healthcare is the larger prize and the harder gate: where a person's needs are primarily health needs rather than social care needs, the NHS funds the full package, care home fees included, with no means test, and eligibility is decided through a formal assessment process that families can request and challenge. Deferred payment agreements, which councils in England must offer in qualifying cases, prevent the forced sale of a home in the resident's lifetime by securing costs against it. Lasting powers of attorney, for both finances and health and welfare, only work if made while the person has capacity, which is why arranging them early is the single most time-sensitive step on this list. None of this removes the underlying exposure the data describes, but together these levers determine whether a care journey is managed or chaotic, and free guidance is available from the council itself and from established care advice charities before any irreversible financial step.
How council care funding is decided
- Request a needs assessment from the local authority; anyone appearing to need care is entitled to one regardless of money.
- The authority applies the national eligibility criteria under the Care Act 2014 to decide whether needs qualify for support.
- A separate financial assessment then examines income and capital, including property in some circumstances, against the means test limits.
- Check Attendance Allowance and NHS Continuing Healthcare eligibility alongside, since neither is means-tested.
- If the home would have to be sold to pay for residential care, ask about a deferred payment agreement before selling.
- Put lasting powers of attorney in place early, while capacity is not in question, so finances and care decisions can be managed later.
RELATED GUIDES
DISCLAIMER
This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial, legal or care advice. Care funding rules described apply in England; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland differ. Immediate needs annuities are regulated products where specialist advice is strongly advisable, and individual entitlement to benefits and NHS funding depends on assessment of personal circumstances.
Frequently asked questions
How many people receive long-term care in England
683,000 people were receiving council-arranged long-term care on 31 December 2025, according to DHSC data, including 486,000 in the community, 139,000 in residential care homes and 55,000 in nursing homes. Self-funders paying privately are additional to these figures.
What are the chances of needing care in old age
The DHSC data shows 11,260 per 100,000 people aged 85 and over receive council-funded long-term care, more than 1 in 9 of the age group, before counting people who fund their own care. Rates are roughly 1 in 27 at 75 to 84 and 1 in 61 at 65 to 74.
At what savings level do you pay for your own care
In England, capital above £23,250 generally means paying the full cost of care. Below £14,250, capital is disregarded and only income is assessed, with tariff income applied between the two limits. The planned £86,000 lifetime cap on care costs was scrapped in 2024.
Does health or life insurance pay for care home fees
No. Private medical insurance covers treatment rather than ongoing care, critical illness cover pays a lump sum on diagnosis, and life insurance pays on death. No mainstream pre-funded long-term care insurance is sold in the UK; the main insurance product is the immediate needs annuity, bought when care begins.
When does the NHS pay for care in full
Under NHS Continuing Healthcare, where a formal assessment finds a person's needs are primarily health needs, the NHS funds the full care package, including care home fees, with no means test. Families can request an assessment and challenge decisions.
SOURCES
- DHSC, adult social care client level data, England, quarterly update to December 2025 – accessed 23 July 2026
- GOV.UK, financial assessment for care and support – accessed 23 July 2026
- Care Act 2014, legislation.gov.uk – accessed 23 July 2026
