Vol 5 Ed 2

Volume 5 Edition 2 Newsletter

Online at Permalink: http://www.financialcareservices.com.au/vol-5-ed-2/ ‎‎

FINANCIAL CARE SERVICES
Independent aged care, lifestyle and financial advice for seniors
Volume 5 Edition 2 –27 February 2015

Hello

When you need someone to deal with Centrelink on your behalf.

Pensioners who are physically frail or experiencing memory problems might not be able to manage their Centrelink business alone.

A Centrelink Pensioner who still has a sharp mind could authorise a trusted friend or relative to deal with Centrelink or her behalf. Centrelink have a form for you to use to appoint an Administrator. The Centrelink Pensioner signs the form appointing her Administrator.

You could choose to appoint someone just as Correspondence Administrator to talk to Centrelink and receive their letters whilst your Pension is paid into your bank account.

A frail person might also choose to appoint a partner to be her Financial Administrator. Centrelink would pay the Pension to the bank account of the Financial Administrator who would then manage your money for you.

But if a Pensioner is unable to sign the Centrelink form on account of frailty or mental incapacity then the process is more complex. If the Pensioner had granted an Enduring Power of Attorney then her Attorney may sign the Centrelink form to appoint the Attorney as Correspondence Administrator at Centrelink.
You must show Centrelink the original or a certified copy, of the Power of Attorney document to complete the Administrator authorisation paperwork.

DVA have a similar system for DVA Pensioners to have someone deal with DVA Pension matters on your behalf.

Not every frail adult had granted an Enduring Power of Attorney before becoming mentally incapacitated or too frail to deal with paperwork. Each State government has a process for appointing Administrators for people who cannot manage their own financial affairs.

In Victoria, the family, friends or carers of an incapacitated person may apply to the Guardianship section of VCAT to have an Administrator appointed. VCAT decide who is to be the person’s Administrator; maybe a responsible family member or trusted friend or the State Trustee. A VCAT appointed Administrator could then become the Centrelink Correspondence Administrator for a frail person.

Hint. Grant an Enduring Power of Attorney to a trusted family member or friend while you are young and healthy. You could choose who would be your Attorney and your lawyer could draft your Power of Attorney documents.

Read more from Centrelink about appointing an Administrator

DVA Disability Pensions are excluded from Aged Care Means Test

The people receiving Commonwealth sponsored aged care are expected to contribute to the costs of their care. The care recipient’s pays an amount based on their ‘income’ and ‘assets’.

When a veteran himself receives aged care the DVA compensation, or DVA Disability Pension, is excluded from his ‘income’ for the purposes of his aged care fees. This DVA compensation exemption ensures that the veteran has access to his full compensation amount for his personal expenditure. But a veteran’s ‘income’ does include both the amount of any Service Pension and the income declared to DVA for the Service Pension means test.

The DVA War Widow Pension is available to the surviving spouse of a veteran who died as a consequence of medical condition that was attributable to his active service. As the War Widow Pension is compensation for the loss of her spouse, the aged care means tested amount DVA compensation exemption does not apply to the War Widow Pension or any attaching ISS.

Aged care means tested fees and accommodation prices are complex. Christine at Financial Care Services understands the DVA Compensation and Service Pensions and Centrelink assessment of the means tested amount for aged care both home care and aged care. Assistance with completing the DVA and Centrelink aged care means testing forms is available to clients of Financial Care Services

Financial Care Services is licensed to offer investment strategy advice and to assist you to invest. Financial Care Services charges fees based on the work involved in advising you and arranging your investments. Financial Care Services does not base fees on the value of your assets nor do we accept any commissions or payments from other service providers.

If you would like further confidential, independent and professional advice about DVA, Centrelink, lifestyle or financial advice, please contact Christine Hopper (03) 9808 0338.

____________________________________________________

Christine Hopper

Director
Financial Care Services Pty Ltd
Independent aged care, lifestyle and financial advice for seniors in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Australian Financial Services Licence Number
299570 (check this at www.search.asic.gov.au/fsr/flb.html)
Authorised Representative Number
252529 (check this at www.search.asic.gov.au/fsr/far.html)

Telephone – call +61 3 9808 0338
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Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter is of a general nature only and does not constitute “financial advice”. You should obtain your own personal financial advice before investing any money or moving in to any retirement village, lifestyle community or aged care facility. Financial Care Services is licensed to provide financial advice to individual clients based on their personal situations.

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.