Financial Care Services Newsletter
Volume 12 Edition 2 – 28 February 2022

Financial Care Services, the specialist adviser to seniors in transition to new lifestyles

When income exceeds expenditure we can smile.

But when the income is less than the committed expenditure we are challenged.
Then we can be severely challenged when the car insurance and registration bills arrive together.

Help with the cash flow challenge.

Some adults manage to control their finances really well all of the time.
They might be the same people who age graciously always presenting as physically fit and slim.

These seniors have claimed every Centrelink benefit and every seniors discount.
But most of us could use a little help and encouragement with the cash flow challenges of seniors’ living.

Help with the cash flow challenge: claim the Low Income and Pensioner discounts

You could claim discounts on electricity, gas and water bills if you hold either a Low Income Health Card or a Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card.

You need to register with each utility service to claim your Low Income or Centrelink Pensioner discount.

Discounts on motor vehicle registration charges and municipal Council Rates vary between States.

You could check what concessions are available in your State at Concessions eligibility calculator

Help with the cash flow challenge: claim the Low Income Health Card or a Centrelink Pension

The Centrelink Low Income Health Card is available to Australian adults who have a Low Income.
You could be eligible for the Low Income Health Card while you are active in the paid working force and/or drawing on your savings to cover your living expenses.

In February 2022, the Low Income Health Card cut off ‘weekly income’ is $644 for a single person or $1,107 for a couple without dependent children.

Centrelink use a particular definition of ‘income’ for assessing your claim for a Low Income Health Card.
Then your ‘income’ is averaged over an eight week period to check if you qualify for a Low Income Health Card.

Centrelink Pensioners are issued with the Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card.
You only need to be eligible for one dollar per fortnight of Centrelink Pension to qualify for the Pensioner Concession Card.

To qualify for a Centrelink Pension, you need to prove that you cannot be expected to work fulltime because you are older, have a significant disability or substantial caring responsibilities.
Once you are qualified then the amount of Centrelink Pension you could be paid is assessed under the Income and Assets Tests.

Help with Claiming a Centrelink Pension or Health Card

The Centrelink maze for discovering if you qualify for a Centrelink Pension or Health Card can be challenging.

The easy route is to ask Christine for the Financial Care Services Age Pension Illustration Personal Data form as a checklist of essential data and then arrange for a ‘$99 Special Age Pension Illustration Short Consultation’ with Christine Hopper of Financial Care Services.

Christine Hopper of Financial Care Services offers Short Consultations for ‘personal factual financial information’ in the form of an Illustration of the amount of Centrelink Pension you could receive today provided that you satisfied the age, disability or carer conditions and residency conditions for a Centrelink Pension.

Contact Christine at Financial Care Services to obtain the Financial Care Services Age Pension Illustration Personal Data form.
You will also receive our Client Services Guide that provides essential information about Christine Hopper of Financial Care Services.

If the Income and/or Assets Tests would exclude you from any Centrelink Pension, Christine could help you check whether you would qualify for the Low Income Health Card and/or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card.

But holders of the Low Income or Commonwealth Seniors Health Cards do not qualify for the full range of concessions that come with the Pensioner Concession Card.

Help with the cash flow challenge: knowing where your money comes and goes

Some seniors enjoy tracking their finances on spreadsheets.
Other seniors just do not like numbers but still need to discover where their money disappears.

Help is available from MoneySmart.
The Track your spending – Moneysmart help page is your guide to getting started.

Help with the cash flow challenge: budgeting then directing where your money goes

You might like the excitement of impulse spending but not the lack of cash later.
Budgeting might appear to just constrain your spending to the boring regular stuff.
But good budgets set aside money for special treats.

You might prefer to save up the ‘treats’ money for a holiday or special celebration, rather than spend it all each week.

Do-it-yourself budgeting help is available at the Commonwealth sponsored Money Smart website.
Budgeting – Moneysmart.gov.au

If you prefer in person learning with encouragement to actually write your own household budget then you could try a CAP Money Coach.
Over three sessions with other budget learners and a CAP Money Coach person, you too could set your own realistic budget.

Free budgeting help from a CAP Money Coach

Help with the cash flow challenge: budget for the regular bills

Seniors with strong skill sets in financial management have few problems with setting aside the funds needed for the big bills.

Seniors could divert part of each superannuation or Centrelink Pension into a separate ‘major bills’ bank account.
Then set up direct debits to pay the regular bill from that account.
This strategy could work well if you budget for your bills to be both bigger and sooner than you hoped.

You must refrain from drawing on the ‘major bills’ bank account for anything else if this system to work for you.

But if your attitude to money resembles the See Food Diet then you might need some practical help to quarantine money for the big bills.
The See Food Diet is simple: every time you see any food you eat it immediately.

Help with the cash flow challenge: Centrepay for the regular bills

Centrepay allows you to have part of your Centrelink Pension diverted to your Centrepay account.
Your housing rent and utility bills can then be paid direct by Centrepay.

If you did not see the rent and utility bill money come into your bank account then you cannot be tempted to spend it on other things.

Centrepay- how your account works

You contact Centrelink to set up a Centrepay arrangement

Centrelink Pensioners are not charged any fees for using Centrepay.

You set the amounts to be taken from your Pension each fortnight for each biller.
For example, you could also ask for $40 per fortnight to be paid to your electricity account and another $30 for your phone account.
These amounts are paid towards your account with your service provider.
So when your next bill arrives you would see credits for the amounts you already have paid.

You can change, increase, reduce, suspend or restart, your Centrepay deductions for a particular biller.

Centrepay Billers you can pay

Service providers need to sign up for Centrepay before their customers can pay via Centrepay.
The biller must agree to pay the Centrepay fee and not pass the fee on to the customer.

Utility providers such as electricity, water, telephone and gas services are usually enrolled as Centrepay billers.
Many community service providers strongly encourage their residents to pay all of their social housing rent or aged care fees via Centrepay.

Some private landlords and/or their property managers, are also registered for Centrepay for residential rents.

You can pay your motor vehicle registration and TAC charges and insurance via Centrepay.
You can have your Council rates, home and contents insurance and regular home maintenance fees paid via Centrepay.

Centrepay can be used for your court fines and infringements.
Contact the Court Administrative Office in your state or territory to set up your Centrepay arrangement.

You can read the full list of Centrepay uses at Centrepay goods and services – Centrepay – Services Australia

Centrepay cannot be used for every bill.

Public housing rents are debited to your Centrelink Pension payment under a different arrangement not via Centrepay.

You cannot use Centrepay for paying down your debts to payday lenders, pawn brokers or debt collectors.
Similarly you need to make your own arrangements to pay down your bank loans and credit card debts.

Help with the cash flow challenge Advance Pension Payments for large essential purchases.

When essential whitegoods need replacing not everyone has $1,000 in their bank account ready.
Centrelink Pensioners could ask for an Advance Payment of Pension to buy an essential item.
Centrelink would allow an Advance Payment not exceeding $1,000.

An Advance Payment is exactly that.
The amount of Pension Advanced is then repaid by deductions from your next thirteen fortnightly Pension payments.

More information and the Advance Payment Application from Centrelink.

Help with the cash flow challenge: No Interest Loans for bigger essential items

No Interest Loans are another option for essential health and household items.

Good Shepherd Microfinance lends to Centrelink Pensioners and other Low Income households.

A senior Pensioner could apply to Good Shepherd Microfinance for a loan to purchase household appliances such as washing machines and refrigerators. Loans for dental work, mobility aids and essential vehicle repairs are also possible.

Good Shepherd Microfinance loans are generally for maximum amounts $1,500.

Applicants must show how they would be able to repay their loans within eighteen months, preferably within a year.
No interest is charged on these Good Shepherd Microfinance loans for essential items.

You can apply directly to Good Shepherd Microfinance for a loan.
Other financial counsellors can also help with accessing the Good Shepherd Microfinance No Interest Loans.

No Interest Loans (NILs) – Good Shepherd

Good Shepherd Microfinance is licenced by ASIC to provide credit to consumers.

Help with the cash flow challenge: managing your debt

Life is good when income of $1,000 covers expenses of $999. But when expenses creep up to $1,001 then that $1,000 of income is not enough.

Borrowing that last dollar seems OK at the start.
But the repeats plus accumulating interest, might keep on growing into a big scary debt.
The gap started small like that extra half kilo on the bathroom scales.
The accumulating debt like that extra padding, can become an embarrassment.

If you have somehow found yourself with a big scary debt then a financial counsellor could be a good choice for a new best friend.

You could begin with Getting assistance – FCVic.
Just talking to someone can start you on a path to dealing with your debt.

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.
______________________________

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
LinkedIn – connect https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinehopper1
LinkedIn Company – follow https://www.linkedin.com/company/financial-care-services/
Past newsletters – see http://financialcareservices.com.au/newsletters/
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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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