CII CF8 Care Funding: Estimate the Planning Shortfall

Table of Contents

• • Calculate the simple gap
• • Worked example
• • Keep the England 2026/27 figures in their proper place
• • Use the correct assessment order
• • Add stress tests manually
• - Cost inflation
• - Income change
• - Longer duration
• - Capital loss or illiquidity
• • Common CF8 calculation traps

The basic CF8 care-funding calculation is:

weekly gap = weekly care cost − usable reliable weekly income

Then:

• annual gap = weekly gap × 52
• gap over selected period = annual gap × years
• residual shortfall = gap over selected period − capital earmarked for care

Use zero where subtraction would produce a negative gap. This gives a planning baseline. It does not decide who must pay, whether public support applies or which funding method is suitable.

The official CII CF8 unit page covers the interaction of care contracts with State benefits and State-funded care, funding arrangements, legal and tax issues, and review. Its assessment combines 50 standalone multiple-choice questions with five case studies of five questions each, making accurate calculation and case-fact selection equally important.

Calculate the simple gap

Enter four figures:

1. Weekly care cost: the relevant weekly fee in the case.
2. Reliable weekly income: only the usable amount available toward that fee after any deductions or retained personal spending specified in the case.
3. Years: the planning period you want to test.
4. Capital earmarked: liquid capital that the scenario specifically makes available for care.

Read the outputs in order. The weekly and annual gaps show the recurring pressure. The selected-period gap shows the total if cost and income stay level. The residual shortfall shows what remains after the entered care capital is used.

Do not enter the client’s entire estate automatically. Property may be occupied, disregarded, unavailable, difficult to realise or reserved for another objective. The facts must support the amount entered.

Worked example

Assume a case gives:

• care cost: £1,250 a week;
• reliable income available for care: £450 a week;
• planning period: four years; and
• capital specifically earmarked for care: £80,000.

The working is:

Step	Calculation	Result
Weekly gap	£1,250 − £450	£800
Annual gap	£800 × 52	£41,600
Four-year gap	£41,600 × 4	£166,400
Residual shortfall	£166,400 − £80,000	£86,400

The answer is not “the client needs an £86,400 product”. The result raises the next questions:

• Is the quoted fee the complete relevant cost?
• Which income continues in the care setting, and how much is genuinely available?
• Has NHS or local-authority eligibility been assessed?
• Does the capital remain accessible throughout the period?
• What happens if cost rises, income changes or care lasts longer?
• Which objective takes priority: certainty, flexibility, spouse provision or estate preservation?

The calculation establishes scale. Suitability requires the rest of the case.

Keep the England 2026/27 figures in their proper place

The Department of Health and Social Care’s 2026 to 2027 charging circular applies to England. It states:

Published figure	2026/27 amount	What it means
Upper capital limit	£23,250	Above this, a permanent care-home resident is responsible for the full cost under the described capital test
Lower capital limit	£14,250	Below this, capital is not used for the tariff contribution described in the circular; assessed income can still be relevant
Personal expenses allowance	£31.80 a week	Minimum personal spending retained by a resident receiving local-authority-arranged care and support in a care home

Between the two capital limits, the circular describes a contribution from capital of £1 a week for every £250, or part of £250, between the limits. Capital disregards can change what counts. For care other than as a permanent care-home resident, a local authority may use higher capital limits.

These figures are context only in the calculator. It does not infer a local-authority contribution from a capital balance. A proper assessment may need to consider property, disregards, income, benefits, the care setting, eligible needs and local-authority decisions. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different systems and figures.

Use the correct assessment order

In a CF8 case, do not start by spending the client’s capital. Work in this order:

1. establish the care need and setting;
2. identify whether NHS responsibility or another non-means-tested route may be relevant;
3. identify the local-authority needs and financial-assessment position for the correct jurisdiction;
4. confirm benefits and reliable income that continue;
5. calculate the remaining private funding gap; and
6. compare suitable ways to meet the gap.

This keeps an arithmetic answer from replacing the eligibility analysis.

Add stress tests manually

The tool holds all inputs level. For exam practice, recalculate after changing one assumption.

Cost inflation

If a question supplies an annual care-cost increase, calculate each year’s cost separately. Do not multiply today’s annual gap by years and call it an inflated projection.

Income change

Check whether pension, benefit or other income is level, escalating, taxable, interrupted or payable to somebody else. Use the net usable amount relevant to the case.

Longer duration

Increase the selected years. This exposes longevity risk but is not a prediction of how long care will be needed.

Capital loss or illiquidity

Reduce earmarked capital if the case gives market loss, withdrawal cost or a limit on access. Do not assume property can be sold immediately.

Common CF8 calculation traps

Using a headline fee without checking its components. Care, nursing, accommodation and personal expenditure may not have the same payer.

Counting gross income as fully available. Check tax, ongoing commitments and any amount the person must retain.

Treating a capital limit as a grant. The limits help frame a means test; they are not flat payments.

Applying England figures across the UK. Identify the jurisdiction before using thresholds or assessment rules.

Ignoring assessment and disregards. A balance-sheet total alone may not be the assessable capital figure.

Turning the result into a product recommendation. Compare certainty, flexibility, inflation, duration, liquidity, death outcomes, tax and review needs first.

Use the CF8 care-funding decision map to take the result through assessment, options, authority and review. The CF8 case-study workflow shows how to locate the facts before calculating.

This calculator is for education and simple scenario practice. It does not provide a benefit assessment, care-fee quote, financial forecast or personal financial, legal, tax or care advice. Check current official rules and obtain an individual assessment where a real person’s care is involved.