Thankfully I think my wife and I are able to get this.
But I genuinely feel greatly for those who worked hard and were successful in life without disruptions to employment through health, unforeseen multiple redundancies, ruling party changes of policies etc and so on putting them on or even well below the poverty line at times, before chance came their way to start again.
After all the successful ones also paid taxes and in some cases heaps of it.
We had massive changes through life due to illnesses, redundancies as above etc., and at age 48 obtained a 4th chance at a new career which lasted until retirement and provided four income streams (all minimal) which combined give us a reasonable life now.
A couple of relatives are self funded and as such miss out on heaps of stuff, which now renders them in the live off an oily rag category.
A very old British song has words like - " the government, promise you everything, give you nothing and take it away before you get it", may be we are going that way or gone that way now.
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Cheers - Ian
I slowly realise as I get older that I am definitely NOT the fastest rat in the race.
Also the older I get the more I realise I do not know.
When I did my financial planning back in early sixties the rules were to means test for pensions after age 65, no means test for persons over 70 - Buggar me they didn't expect so many of us to pass 70, so they changed the Rules in the final quarter of the game.
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Possum; AKA:- Ali El-Aziz Mohamed Gundawiathan
Sent from my imperial66 typewriter using carrier pigeon, message sticks and smoke signals.
Now I did have this explain to me once, I hope I am on the mark with this comment.
First off they give this bonus to people in a certain financial bracket because the government knows these people will almost rush out and spent the bonus thus spiking the financial market.
Guess what, I will not be one of them, the older I get the less I need and want. Of cause I would like a new sports car but be real I have enough trouble getting down or up from the floor alone getting into a sports car and bonus will not pay for that.
I hope everyone knows that you can be self funded like I am and still get a health/pension card. You will not get a pension payment but will get same discounts as someone who gets Govt. pension.
"I hope everyone knows that you can be self funded like I am and still get a health/pension card. You will not get a pension payment but will get same discounts as someone who gets Govt. pension."
Wrong! I am a self funded retiree, and yes I get the medical benefits - cheaper pharmacies etc, but for the more advanced procedures eg CT scans, MRIs etc, not all the places providing these services offer discounts. Also council rates are full fare, as fare, as are driver's licences, telstra bills and quite a few other items which we miss out on. I am not complaining - I get my medicine for my respiratory condition for $6.80 and the full price is around $3000 per shot.
We got the pension card as part of the trade-off when they dropped the asset limit to half of what it was. So my pension dropped from $6.50 a fortnight to zero, but we kept all the other stuff that NSW generously gives us - Except the country energy card
Wrong! I am a self funded retiree, and yes I get the medical benefits -
I do not agree. A pension card is a pension card, does not matter what assets you have or have not. When you show that card somewhere you get whatever discounts that place gives. It will be the same for self funded and a person receiving a govt. pension.
Obviously if that place charges over the bulk billing rate you will have to pay the difference. Self funded or on a govt. pension.
MRI's, I have had one plus a couple of other tests, bulk billed, cost me nothing.
You mentioned Telstra, centrelink gives you what is called a utility allowance every year, put that towards your telstra bill
That is all Federal, now for state, that is a bit different in all states.
Here in my council area in Qld i receive discounts for -- elect, gas, water rego on one car. Council rates the same as you but we get a "state gov" allowance of $200 per year discount from our rates.
Yes I am happy with what I am getting as you are, better than nothing.
I hope this thread keeps going because myself and others may find new info.
In previous posts I was referring to the pension card shown on the right of Jeff & Rae's post Now to take this further I can tell you this.
I am self funded, over in the assets, get not even $1 as a govt. pension yet I have both those cards shown. I have never been asked for or shown the CSHC on the left in Jeff & Rae's answer. I have absolutely no idea what it is for
I have free hearing aids from the govt. but not by using the CSHC.
Bilbo are you referring to the other card shown, CSHC, or something else that I do not know about.
BAZZA44, at some stage you must have applied for the cards as they don't just send them if you are over pension age. The cards also have an expiry date.
If you have used the cards at doctors etc, when they are current, you are rarely asked to show them again
In WA if you have CSHC and WA Seniors Card, you get the same benefits as the PCC card. (not quite but close)
"Under the threshold you get the PCC and a pension, over the threshold of assets (around $870,000 for a home owning couple) , you get the CSHC"
Not entirely true because it depends on timing. If you had aged pension and lost it because of changes to the assets test, you retain the pensioner card and all its perks. It was grandfathered in an attempt to stop civil insurrection by those affected. For a while I had both cards as they tried to sort it all out.
