The Commonwealth Seniors Health Care Card can give self-funded retirees who do not qualify for a government Age Pension the entitlements that others receive from the Pensioner Concession Card (like pharmaceutical benefits, help with utilities bills and transport discounts). Many self-funded retirees can maintain their assets and continue to make quality investments rather than work out ways to reduce assets to ‘get on the pension’, even for as little as a dollar a fortnight, just to qualify for the card.

The card is available for people who have attained Age Pension age and have an adjusted annual taxable income not exceeding $50,000 for a single person or $80,000 a year combined for a ‘couple living together’.  The adjusted taxable income limit for a ‘couple separated by illness’ is $100,000 a year. These income limits are fixed in legislation and not subject to any form of indexation, and also increase by a certain amount for each dependent child.

Apply to Centrelink only after attaining Age Pension age, but check with this office for more information.