Financial Care Services Newsletter
Volume 11 Edition 8 – 31 August 2021
Financial Care Services, the specialist adviser to seniors in transition to new lifestyles
Power Saving Bonus for Centrelink concession card holders in Victoria
New for 2021 is the “Power Saving Bonus” courtesy of the Victorian government.
The Power Saving Bonus is intended to help Victorian Centrelink income support clients cope with energy bill stress during COVID.
You must be receiving fortnightly means tested ‘income’ benefit from Centrelink or DVA to qualify for the Power Saving Bonus payment.
Only one member of each household can claim the Power Saving Bonus. That means just one member of a couple living together gets the extra $250 deposited into their bank account.
This one-off payment of $250 is available to both Centrelink Age Pensioners and DVA Service Pensioners who hold Pensioner Concession Cards. Disability Support Pensioners and Carer Payment Pensioners are also eligible for the Power Saving Bonus.
People receiving Jobseeker can apply for the Power Saving Bonus.
But the Power Saving Bonus is not available to Victorians who hold only Health Care Cards without getting fortnightly income support payments from Centrelink.
Hence Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders do not qualify for the Power Saving Bonus.
You have until 31 January 2022 to claim the Power Saving Bonus through the Victorian Energy Compare website,
To make a claim online you will need a recent electricity bill in your name for your ‘residential premises’, that is, for your home not your business.
You will also need to quote your Centrelink CRN as shown on your Pensioner Concession Card or Health Care Card.
Help to claim the Power Saving Bonus
Telephone help to navigate the $250 Power Saving Bonus claim process is available from community organisations.
If you are challenged by the online claim process you could call
The Brotherhood of St. Laurence on 1800 830 029,
Good Shepherd on 1300 026 500, or
The National Debt Helpline – Consumer Action Law Centre, on 1800 149 689.
Remember these community organisations could also help you manage your debts before you despair totally.
What would it cost for residential aged care?
Short stays for respite or restorative care
A short stay in a Commonwealth regulated residential aged care facility for respite or restorative care would cost you the Basic Daily Fee only.
The Basic Daily Fee is 85% of the single rate of Age Pension excluding the Pension Supplements. This Basic Daily Fee is intended to cover the costs of your meals, personal laundry and other ‘housekeeping’ services.
In August 2021, the Basic Daily Fee is $52.71 per day, that is, $737.94 per fortnight.
The Commonwealth pays for your accommodation during short stays in residential aged care because you are assumed to retain your home and all of its associated costs.
Long term permanent placement in Commonwealth regulated residential aged care
When the aged care facility becomes your permanent home then you are expected to pay your full ‘hoteling’ costs.
All permanent residents in Commonwealth regulated residential aged care pay the Basic Daily Fee for housekeeping.
All residents pay the $737.94 per fortnight ‘housekeeping’ even if they have no savings and the Age Pension is their only income.
Accommodation costs for Commonwealth regulated residential aged care
Your accommodation costs for permanent care depend on your asset and income position when you entered permanent care.
Accommodation costs for new entrants with limited resources
If your only income is the Age Pension and your net assets are less than $51,000 when you enter permanent aged care then you could be a fully Supported Resident.
As a fully Supported Resident, you would not be asked to contribute to the cost of your aged care accommodation.
The Commonwealth will pay the maximum Accommodation Supplement for your aged care accommodation as a fully Supported Resident.
If you have a little more than $51,000 of net assets and/or a little more income than the Age Pension, you could be a partially Supported Resident.
Partially Supported Residents pay a means tested Accommodation Contribution. The Commonwealth would then pay an Accommodation Supplement to cover the remainder of your aged care accommodation costs.
The Commonwealth only helps with the costs of your aged care accommodation if are a DSP or Age Pensioner, and your net assets were under $173,000 on the date you entered permanent residential aged care.
Supported Residents can be required to pay the maximum Accommodation Supplement if their asset and/or income changes later.
Claiming Supported Resident status
Beware, you must ‘prove’ your eligibility for Supported Resident status and thus some Accommodation Supplement, before you enter permanent residential aged care.
Check your qualification for Supported Resident status carefully if you are hoping that your former home is exempt.
Your former home is only excluded from your net assets if it was also the permanent home of your partner or another ‘protected person’ who gets a Centrelink DSP or Age Pension.
Ask Christine at Financial Care Services to help you with your application for Supported Resident status before you search for a permanent aged care placement.
Accommodation costs for new entrants with assets over $173,000 and/or substantial incomes
New entrants to permanent residential aged care must pay the full cost of their accommodation unless they have been granted Supported Resident status before entering permanent care.
Thus you will pay the full cost of your aged care accommodation if your net assets exceed $173,000 in August 2021, and/or you have a substantial income.
Centrelink count your former home at $173,075.20 per person, in the assessment of your net assets on entry to permanent aged care.
A lower or nil value for your former home?
If you own a modest home with a substantial amount still outstanding on your home mortgage then you could show Centrelink that your share of the net value of your former home is lower than the Centrelink assumed amount.
Your former home could be exempt your partner lives there. Your former home might be exempt if it is the permanent home of a ‘protected person’ who is a Centrelink DSP or Age Pensioner or a DVA Pensioner.
Beware, ex-carers who are young enough to re-enter the workforce do not qualify as ‘protected persons’.
If your valuable former home is vacant once you entered Commonwealth regulated residential aged care as a permanent resident then you will be required to pay the full cost of your aged care accommodation.
Costs of ‘standard’ aged care accommodation
A Commonwealth regulated residential aged care may ask for an Accommodation Room Price of $550,000 for any ‘standard’ place.
A standard place could be in a shared room or a single room but there must be direct access from the bedroom to a bathroom.
You must pay interest on the part of your Accommodation Room Price that you have not yet paid as a Refundable Accommodation Deposit.
New entrants in August 2021 are charged interest at 4.04% per annum on outstanding part of their Accommodation Room Price.
A new entrant to a standard aged care placement could be paying interest of 4.04% on her Accommodation Room Price of $550,000.
Her Accommodation Payment is then $22,220 per year, that is, $60.88 per day.
Total hoteling costs for a standard aged care place
In summary, the new resident would pay $1,590 per fortnight, $113.59 per day, for hoteling fees.
Each day she pays $52.71 for housekeeping and $60.88 for accommodation in a standard place.
But wait there are more costs for aged care.
You can only enter Commonwealth regulated residential aged care if you are ‘assessed’ as needing some ‘personal support and nursing care’.
The minimum cost of an aged care resident’s ‘personal support and nursing care’ is $38.70 per day, $541.80 per fortnight, in August 2021.
You can be asked to contribute to the costs of your ‘personal support and nursing care’ on a means tested basis.
Centrelink undertake the calculations for the ‘means tested care fees’. In August 2021, Means Tested Care fees range from nil to $28,338 per year. The Commonwealth pays the balance of the costs of the ‘personal support and nursing care’ after you have paid your Means Tested Care fee.
Your Means Tested Care fee rate changes as your financial position changes. Selling the former home to pay a RAD could substantially increase your Means Tested Care fees.
Christine can help you understand the Means Tested Care fees that could be charged to your family.
Christine could also help you with completing the Centrelink forms for the Means Tested Care fee Assessment. She has neat handwriting to fit your answers into the little boxes on Centrelink forms.
When Centrelink documentation is a challenge
If you prefer to never engage with Centrelink then you could choose a private hotel type home.
In Victoria, these Supported Residential Services, SRS, provide serviced accommodation and meals together with some personal care.
Each SRS sets is own fee scale and service level. Most SRS offer some assistance with personal care and supervision of medication. Few SRS offer the equivalent of ‘nursing home high care’ or ‘secure dementia’.
The manager of an SRS is allowed to require clients to move out if they require more ‘personal support and nursing care’ than that SRS offers. You might be given one week’s notice to find a more supportive aged care place.
Costs of calling an SRS home.
A charity might provide SRS places for seniors at risk of homelessness at $450 per week, $900 per fortnight. This would just be affordable to an Age Pensioner receiving the maximum rate of Rent Assistance.
Seniors who have more financial resources could choose from a range of comfortable rooms in private aged care homes and elegant apartments in luxury residences, all fully catered and with personal care support.
A pleasant SRS offering plenty of personal support but not significant nursing care, could require a fortnightly fee of at least $2,000.
For a senior who only needed a little help with personal care and medication supervision, the SRS cost might be similar to the cost of a standard room and the full cost of ‘Low’ care in a Commonwealth regulated residential aged care facility.
Families with complex financial arrangements could prefer to pay SRS fees and not engage with Centrelink.
Christine at Financial Care Services your independent adviser
Financial Care Services is an independent advisory service specialising in retirees of modest means and aged care entrants.
Our core values include working with clients in claiming DVA and Centrelink entitlements.
The team at Financial Care Services are here to answer your Age Pension questions and guide your understanding of aged care costs.
Help with Centrelink challenges is available from Christine Hopper at Financial Care Services, the specialist adviser to seniors in transition to new lifestyles.
Christine has neat handwriting just right for inserting your data into small printed spaces. She helps clients complete Centrelink forms.
Christine could help you with collating your supporting documents and then mailing your form to Centrelink.
Assistance with completing Age Pension Claims and the Commonwealth aged care means testing forms is available to clients of Financial Care Services.
Christine charges fees based on the work involved in advising you about pensions and aged care fee solutions.
To make an appointment for confidential, independent and professional advice about aged care, retirement lifestyle costs, granny flat or Age Pension issues please contact Christine Hopper or call +61 3 9808 0338.
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Christine Hopper
Financial Care Services Pty Ltd
Independent aged care, strategic lifestyle and Social Security advice for seniors in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Telephone – call +61 3 9808 0338
Email – contact info@financialcareservices.com.au
Address – mail to 172 Warrigal Road, Camberwell Victoria 3124
Website – visit financialcareservices.com.au
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Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter is of a general nature only and does not constitute “financial advice”.
All eligibility for Commonwealth benefits will be determined by Centrelink or DVA, based on your personal position as documented and the legislation and Regulations in force at that time.
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