It’s called a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC). No asset test is applied,just an income test that was increased to $95,400 for singles and $152,640 for couples late last year. This means that it is now available to most of Australia’s 1.25 million self-funded retirees. You can apply online,through a services centre,or by mailing your application.
Applying for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card online can take you around in circles.John Shakespeare
The rules are straightforward. Apart from meeting the income test limits,you need to be an Australian resident and of pension age (67). Benefits can vary according to your state of residence and your health needs,but savings on medical,transport and energy costs can be between $2000 to $3000 a year.
Given these savings,you might wonder why more people haven’t applied. Maybe they heard about my misadventures?
As I’ve been writing about retirement income and Centrelink rules for about 20 years,I thought I would manage our joint (couple) application easily. First,I downloaded the 18-page,83-question application form from the Centrelink website. It’s certainly not for the faint-hearted.
Next,I assembled and attached the eight other required documents. For this,I needed help from our accountant,as the request for information regarding retirement income streams (SA330) was less than clear.
Those unfamiliar with Centrelink may find it unwieldy and simply give up. But this means you will miss out on your rightful entitlements.
We then needed to go to a Centrelink office as our application for a Centrelink Reference Number (CRN) had failed online. The staff helped us get our CRNs,and admitted that there was a glitch with the myGov site,which was why it hadn’t worked for us (and presumably thousands of others). Next they checked our application and documentation,assured us all was in order and said we would hear back soon.
And this is where the process seemed to fall apart. Only one of us received the notification (via email,but lost in spam) that we would be unsuccessful unless we responded with extra information within a week. Of course,not seeing this (as it landed in spam) meant we missed the deadline,and we were later informed by mail that we had been rejected.
As this seemed incorrect,we took the (same) required information back to the service centre and they uploaded it again. Within days we received another request for information,stating that we had not supplied what was required,although this time at least both of us were informed.
As my frustrations mounted,I visited the service centre for a third time and was assured that my documentation had been correctly uploaded by the staff. When I checked how many pages of proof I had given them against how many had been uploaded,it seemed that the vital back page of our SA330 document had been overlooked.
So,back to square one,with Centrelink staff rescanning and uploading the missing page. Finally,eight weeks down the track,success came with an email notification that our application had been approved. Our cards arrived by post about a week later.
Frustratingly,during this time we incurred out-of-pocket pharmaceutical and medical imaging expenses of $300,which would have been covered had we had our CSHCs on hand. But because all cards are dated from the day of application,you should be able to request refunds for such out-of-pocket expenses (as we did) if they are incurred.
So,is a CHSC worth the effort? Definitely. Here are three reasons why:
What would I do differently?
Those unfamiliar with Centrelink and its processes may find it unwieldy and simply give up. But this means you will miss out on entitlements that are rightly yours.
Whilst I knew the rules and that we were eligible,proving that was time-consuming. I persisted despite the knockbacks,but it really shouldn’t have been this difficult.
Next time I would outsource the pain. There are companies that will manage a CSHC application on your behalf for a small fee. If you prefer to DIY,do visit your Centrelink office,but insist on going through a checklist as staff upload your documents to ensure that all information is sent in the first instance.
So don’t give up. Persistence pays off,and the benefits are more than worth it.
Expert tips on how to save,invest and make the most of your money delivered to your inbox every Sunday..