Today we have one of the most requested topics – Low-income Health Care Card.
And please don’t be fooled by the name of “Low Income” it is not that low after all, so it is worth listening, understanding and then planning correctly,
to see if there is any way you can be eligible, especially if you or your partner have any health issues.
I will explain the following:
1. Who is eligible for the Low-Income HealthCare Card,
2. What type of test and rules you need to comply with to be eligible.
3. What are the benefits of this card
My name is Katherine Isbrandt from About Retirement, I am Certified Financial Planner, and you are watching About Retirement TV,
the place to learn all you need to know about how to be retirement ready, what steps to take to improve your financial position
and how to improve your retirement if you're already there.
1. Who is eligible for the Low Income HealthCare Card
To be eligible for the Low-Income HealthCare Card you have to:
1. Pass the Income Test
2. Comply with the residency rules
So, let's have a look
2. What are those rules and test requirements?
Let’s start with Income Test
As per table showing:
A single person can earn up to $702 per week to be eligible for the card
For a couple combine income can be up to $1,204 per week and then you have additional income allowances for children
Please be aware that Centrelink views your income in 8-week period increments, and your income for that period cannot exceed the listed maximum income earned,
which is your cut off point for the card eligibility.
When you provide your application to Centrelink they will assess your income based on the last 8 weeks.
As long as your income is below the maximum listed in the table, you are eligible for the card.
What is taken into account within the Income Test:
- Employment income such as your wages or self-employed income
- Any employer-provided fringe benefits
- All your superannuation contributions inclusive of salary sacrifice so paying more to your superannuation
will not reduce your assessable income for the Low Income HealthCard
- Any government pension, including pension paid by Centrelink
- Payments from Department of Veterans Affairs
- Paid parental leave
- All deemed income from your financial assets such as cash in bank accounts, your shares, managed funds, accounts-based pensions that are subject to deeming rules,
if you have some of those assets there is a little scope for your planning right here
- Income received from other sources of income stream such as superannuation pensions, defined benefit pensions, lifetime pensions, annuities
- those types of incomes are very difficult for your personal assessment, as each can be treated differently, so financial advice is very important right here.
- Income from your private trust or company, this type of income also can be planned and restructured if possible.
-Any foreign income
- Compensation payments
- Redundancy, leave, or termination payments
This is a very long list, but still not an exhaustive one, and as I’ve already mentioned before, difficult to assess,
as different sources of income could be under different Income Test rules, so it is really worth getting a proper financial advice
how to organise your assets and income to reduce the income level, so you could be eligible for the HealthCare Card.
The second requirement is meeting the Residency rules:
You have to be an Australian resident if you live in Australia and you either:
- Are an Australian Citizen or
- You hold a permanent residence visa or
- You have a protected Special Category visa from New Zealand.
3. Benefits of the Low-Income HealthCare Card
The main benefits are:
- cheaper medicine under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
- bulk billed doctor visits - this is up to the doctor though
- a bigger refund for medical costs when you reach the Medicare Safety Net.
I explained those benefits when discussing the Pensioner Concession Card, so please watch that video for more information:
Pensioner Concession card - the best
Then you also could be receiving extra benefits such as a reduction of:
- electricity and gas bills
- your council rates and your water rates
- cost of public transport
- registration of your motor vehicle
I have gone over what benefits are available to you state-by-state depending on where you live.
So watch Concession cards benefits per state
I hope you enjoyed this video and now you feel a little bit more confident in knowing whether you are or not eligible for the card.
If so, give this video a LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to this channel not to miss any of my future videos.
For more retirement-related information, just jump on my website AboutRetirement.com.au
where you can find lots of financial information and topic explained all you need to know how to be ready for your retirement
or how to improve it and maximise your benefits if you have already retired.
If unsure, or would like to receive a solid financial plan, just make a booking for a consultation with me
to understand your options and set your retirement plan into action.
And when you are visiting my website, please don’t forget to sign up to the Newsletter that will keep you updated with all the changes that can impact your retirement.
And now my quick recommendation for further watching:
Video No 1 Pensioner Concession card - the best learn about all those extra benefit that Concession card provides,
whether that’s a pensioner card or a low-income card.
And video No 2 Concession cards benefits per state – is your state the best in benefits you are provided, well find out from this video.
I will speak with you in my next video. Bye for now