Australian Aged Pension

[Pattaya57]

6 minutes ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

I wonder if you asked for 7 months it might be different. If your working or have  other income there's the medicare surcharge levy which kicks in for the months you suspend too which makes it less worthwhile.  

There was 2 months minimum and no maximum other than a maximum cumulative total of 2 years suspended. I was retired so didn't care about the medicare surcharge as it didn't apply. I did my suspensions in 2-4 month blocks

 

Edited Thursday at 10:32 AM by Pattaya57

[scorecard]

And if you cannot work due to illness and so on?

 

And from my understanding  in the US Social Security System there's  a cap on what you can withdraw - and the cap is basically what you have personally contributed. 

 

So if you personal Social Security fund is dry at 80 years old - bad luck? 

 

I have several US colleagues hre in LOS, that's the way they explain it, and they are dreading the day it runs out.

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, gearbox said:

Ain't gonna work unless the super withdrawal rules are changed and the lump sum withdrawals are banned. I know people who moved to $4 million to lower their assets and get a pension.

 

The US has much better structured pension system, you have to work and save in order to have money in retirement.

 

But there's more detail which is not all that positive. 

[gearbox]

57 minutes ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

Can I ask what you mean? You mean they took money out of their super after retirement and spent it or put it somewhere so they were within the limit by the time they get to 67. Are you saying you think you should have to take it as an income stream or something. 

Sorry I missed "home" from the post. They bought expensive property to remove assessable assets and get full pension. Their children are having their inheritance funded by the taxpayers.

[Lacessit]

2 hours ago, gearbox said:

 

 

The US has much better structured pension system, you have to work and save in order to have money in retirement.

A fat lot of good that does if you are forced to pay extortionate amounts for medical insurance, or shell out a fortune for pharmaceuticals to keep you alive.

 

Then there's Florida, where retirees are being made homeless as a result of government condo policy.

 

IMO anyone who prefers the American social security system over Australia's has rocks in their head.

 

 

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, gearbox said:

Sorry I missed "home" from the post. They bought expensive property to remove assessable assets and get full pension. Their children are having their inheritance funded by the taxpayers.

I seriously doubt anyone can get a full pension and own a very expensive home without having very high council rates and property insurance costs.

 

Getting a part pension is a different matter. Even $1 of part pension gains admittance to a number of welfare privileges. That's where the accountants of rich people get very creative.

 

IIRC Labor brought in a limitation on the amount that could be held in a super fund at concessional rates of tax on earnings. I expect that noose will be tightened further.

[4MyEgo]

16 hours ago, Will27 said:

I'm enjoying the (mostly) informative and respectful posts.

 

You just know the avavalanche is coming again shortly though.

 

LOL, that is so funny, was just thinking the same thing.

 

Must be on heavier meds.

 

We should think of a caption for the below: I will start......

 

I'm losing my mind, I need to go on Asean Now !!!

 

 

Edited yesterday at 02:10 AM by 4MyEgo

[4MyEgo]

16 hours ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

Your post was something I had never considered. I have had a look and can't see something that says that but it doesn't clearly say that it is ok too. 

 

I remember at the time that I was looking to obtain private health insurance in Australia, with me living here, you know just in case I returned for treatment there, instead of here, and all were done by email to various insurers.

 

All coming back to me saying that they cannot insure me as I am a non resident and would have to live in Australia as a resident to get private health insurance, which of course made no sense to me, however I am thinking on the lines, that if a non residents Medicare expires after 5 years, that might have something to do with it, I have no idea.

 

They did however steer me in the direction of direction of global private heath care providers, I did go with one through a broker, and was with them for 4 years, and the premium kept going up and up and up every year, age was one, new age bracket and the last one was because the insurer changed an underwriter and at that point my insurance premium had doubled to 140k per annum, to which I kindly replied, no thank you.

 

Since then I have put the premium amount and the families premium amount aside and save a million baht in premiums, no claims and yes not enough, but I have enough funds to keep us out of trouble, "I hope", that said, we all still have our Medicare cards and will return if it is a major concern if it's going to cost us a fortune here, if and when it comes, hopefully not. 

[4MyEgo]

16 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

I had Bupa for many years and everytime I came to Thailand they allowed me to suspend the account thus not having to pay (minimum of 2 months). If they didn't allow people that spent a considerable time out of Australia in the fund then why were they allowing me whereby I only had to pay when I got back to Australia

 

That's a good question, if you really want to know the answer to that, you could ring them, or email them and say; hey guys, I am thinking of moving to Thailand, would I still be able to renew my cover, because my residency status, might change to a non resident.

 

Then you will have your answer, might not like what you hear ?

[Pattaya57]

19 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

That's a good question, if you really want to know the answer to that, you could ring them, or email them and say; hey guys, I am thinking of moving to Thailand, would I still be able to renew my cover, because my residency status, might change to a non resident.

 

Then you will have your answer, might not like what you hear ?

You seem to think to be considered to reside in Australia you have to live in Australia 100% of the time. I just explained that my Bupa allowed me to suspend my account for 2-4 months at a time because I was often in Thailand and they allowed me to do that for up to 2 years total suspension. Why would I need to call them just because you think it's not possible? 

 

Edited yesterday at 03:00 AM by Pattaya57

[4MyEgo]

13 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

You seem to think to be considered to reside in Australia you have to live in Australia 100% of the time. I just explained that my Bupa allowed me to suspend my account for 2-4 months at a time because I was often in Thailand and they allowed me to do that for up to 2 years total suspension. Why would I need to call them just because you think it's not possible? 

 

We can dance around all day, but if we stick to what I was talking about, i.e. being covered by a private health insurer in Australia, i.e. if your residency status changes, will your private health provider in Australia still insure you ?

 

I think not, based on the emails that I received from different insurers at the time that I enquired some years ago.

 

Now we can all have private health insurance when we were in Australia and moved overseas, however not advising your private health insurer that your residency status changed, might make your contract null and void.

 

Just saying, and don't really care, point !

[Lacessit]

42 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

We can dance around all day, but if we stick to what I was talking about, i.e. being covered by a private health insurer in Australia, i.e. if your residency status changes, will your private health provider in Australia still insure you ?

 

I think not, based on the emails that I received from different insurers at the time that I enquired some years ago.

 

Now we can all have private health insurance when we were in Australia and moved overseas, however not advising your private health insurer that your residency status changed, might make your contract null and void.

 

Just saying, and don't really care, point !

My private health provider in Australia restored my suspended insurance the week before I landed in Australia, after the COVID lockdown. They knew I had been overseas for more than two years.

 

I pay the premium yearly. If the fund continued to accept premiums from me while denying me cover because I am not resident, that would be fraud.

 

The health fund is a not-for-profit entity, maybe that is a factor.

 

The subject of residency has never been raised with me by the health fund. Obviously, I am not going to start asking.

[Will27]

1 hour ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

We can dance around all day, but if we stick to what I was talking about, i.e. being covered by a private health insurer in Australia, i.e. if your residency status changes, will your private health provider in Australia still insure you ?

 

I think not, based on the emails that I received from different insurers at the time that I enquired some years ago.

 

Now we can all have private health insurance when we were in Australia and moved overseas, however not advising your private health insurer that your residency status changed, might make your contract null and void.

 

Just saying, and don't really care, point !

I think you're reading way too much into this TBH.

 

As long as people pay their premiums, they should be covered.

I doubt the health insurer even looks at things like residency status and how would they check anyway?

[4MyEgo]

56 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

My private health provider in Australia restored my suspended insurance the week before I landed in Australia, after the COVID lockdown. They knew I had been overseas for more than two years.

 

I pay the premium yearly. If the fund continued to accept premiums from me while denying me cover because I am not resident, that would be fraud.

 

The health fund is a not-for-profit entity, maybe that is a factor.

 

The subject of residency has never been raised with me by the health fund. Obviously, I am not going to start asking.

 

It's only my opinion, but suspending your insurance while stuck overseas until you landed back in Oz, makes sense as you wouldn't be able to access any hospitals in Oz with the COVID con, I mean lockdowns...LOL

 

As for the residency thing, yes, don't wake the sleeping giant as they say.

[4MyEgo]

38 minutes ago, Will27 said:

I think you're reading way too much into this TBH.

 

As long as people pay their premiums, they should be covered.

I doubt the health insurer even looks at things like residency status and how would they check anyway?

 

I'm not reading into it at all TBH.

 

I just raised some facts in my case when trying to get cover in Oz as a non resident and they told me that I had to be a resident of Oz, I argued that I was a Citizen and they said, yep, nah, resident, so make of that what you will.

 

No point in waking the sleeping giant as they say, but for me, I would hate it, if all of a sudden they did ask a question, and I had to answer it, fraudulently because that could make the contract null and void as previously mentioned. 

 

Like you said, how would they check anyway, hey Mr So and So, can you provide us with copies of your passport pages please, and yes, fat chance that would happen, but what if Mr or Mrs Goody Two Shoes who's on the ball, picked it up and their policy stated you have to be a resident to be covered, yes, yes, I know fat chance, but, when I take out a contract, I want to know the fine print as that provides me with less exposure, a classic example is all these dipsticks who come here with travel insurance, but don't read the fine print, e.g. must have a current riders license and IDP, wear a helmet and ride no bigger than a 125cc motorcycle, or the policy doesn't allow for motorbikes.

 

Contract null and void, I know it has nothing to do with residency, but fine prints are fine prints, and I will see if I can find an example and post it, just to clarify things, albeit it I remember couldn't fid anything when I did Google it years ago.

 

 

Edited yesterday at 05:17 AM by 4MyEgo

[Will27]

31 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

I'm not reading into it at all TBH.

 

I just raised some facts in my case when trying to get cover in Oz as a non resident and they told me that I had to be a resident of Oz, I argued that I was a Citizen and they said, yep, nah, resident, so make of that what you will.

 

No point in waking the sleeping giant as they say, but for me, I would hate it, if all of a sudden they did ask a question, and I had to answer it, fraudulently because that could make the contract null and void as previously mentioned. 

 

Like you said, how would they check anyway, hey Mr So and So, can you provide us with copies of your passport pages please, and yes, fat chance that would happen, but what if Mr or Mrs Goody Two Shoes who's on the ball, picked it up and their policy stated you have to be a resident to be covered, yes, yes, I know fat chance, but, when I take out a contract, I want to know the fine print as that provides me with less exposure, a classic example is all these dipsticks who come here with travel insurance, but don't read the fine print, e.g. must have a current riders license and IDP, wear a helmet and ride no bigger than a 125cc motorcycle, or the policy doesn't allow for motorbikes.

 

Contract null and void, I know it has nothing to do with residency, but fine prints are fine prints, and I will see if I can find an example and post it, just to clarify things, albeit it I remember couldn't fid anything when I did Google it years ago.

 

 

It might be prudent to perhaps  start a new topic on health insurance for Aussies.

Edited yesterday at 05:45 AM by Will27

[Olmate]

1 hour ago, Will27 said:

It might be prudent to perhaps  start a new topic on health insurance for Aussies.

Long wind thats blowing insurance out the window! 

[georgegeorgia]

4 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

I'm not reading into it at all TBH.

 

I just raised some facts in my case when trying to get cover in Oz as a non resident and they told me that I had to be a resident of Oz, I argued that I was a Citizen and they said, yep, nah, resident, so make of that what you will.

 

No point in waking the sleeping giant as they say, but for me, I would hate it, if all of a sudden they did ask a question, and I had to answer it, fraudulently because that could make the contract null and void as previously mentioned. 

 

Like you said, how would they check anyway, hey Mr So and So, can you provide us with copies of your passport pages please, and yes, fat chance that would happen, but what if Mr or Mrs Goody Two Shoes who's on the ball, picked it up and their policy stated you have to be a resident to be covered, yes, yes, I know fat chance, but, when I take out a contract, I want to know the fine print as that provides me with less exposure, a classic example is all these dipsticks who come here with travel insurance, but don't read the fine print, e.g. must have a current riders license and IDP, wear a helmet and ride no bigger than a 125cc motorcycle, or the policy doesn't allow for motorbikes.

 

Contract null and void, I know it has nothing to do with residency, but fine prints are fine prints, and I will see if I can find an example and post it, just to clarify things, albeit it I remember couldn't fid anything when I did Google it years ago.

 

 

I wouldn't worry too much about health insurance at your age once you get the Big C the public health system will be the best ,they will know exactly WHEN to stop the treatment 

The private health system because you are paying will only give you false hope and prolong your "treatment" for no reason 

No better to accept your at the tail end of your life and as the saying goes my dear fellow...<deleted> happens!

Why waste money on private health insurance when you have less than 20 years left ,spend it on other things 

 

Edited 20 hours ago by georgegeorgia

[KhunHeineken]

11 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

I remember at the time that I was looking to obtain private health insurance in Australia, with me living here, you know just in case I returned for treatment there, instead of here, and all were done by email to various insurers.

 

All coming back to me saying that they cannot insure me as I am a non resident and would have to live in Australia as a resident to get private health insurance, which of course made no sense to me, however I am thinking on the lines, that if a non residents Medicare expires after 5 years, that might have something to do with it, I have no idea.

 

They did however steer me in the direction of direction of global private heath care providers, I did go with one through a broker, and was with them for 4 years, and the premium kept going up and up and up every year, age was one, new age bracket and the last one was because the insurer changed an underwriter and at that point my insurance premium had doubled to 140k per annum, to which I kindly replied, no thank you.

 

Since then I have put the premium amount and the families premium amount aside and save a million baht in premiums, no claims and yes not enough, but I have enough funds to keep us out of trouble, "I hope", that said, we all still have our Medicare cards and will return if it is a major concern if it's going to cost us a fortune here, if and when it comes, hopefully not. 

I see you are again posting inaccurate information, your interpretations, and poor advice to members. 

 

The "non resident" terminology Australian private health insurance companies use relates to migrant workers and for overseas students who are studying in Australia, also longer stay family visit visas.  It has nothing to do with an Australian citizen's geographic choice of living, anywhere in the world.   

 

Basically, it means a Thai citizen, for example, can not insure themselves with a private health insurance company in Australia, and they are not even in Australia, not have they ever been.  In other words, private health insurance companies only insure foreign nationals, if within Australia, legally.  A foreign national can not insure with an Australian private health insurance company, need treatment, and fly to Australia for the treatment, similar to medical tourism.

 

I continue to pay private health in Australia, and it's not cheap.  It's absolutely worthless to me in Thailand, but if I have a major illness or injury, as soon as I get off the plane in Australia, I am straight to a doctor of my choice, and no doubt operated on days later, not months, or years later, like under Medicare.  I have this in writing from them.  It is not like Centerlink and re-establishing residency. 

 

If you "financial" with a private health insurance company, as soon as you are back on Australian soil, you are entitled to claim.   

 

It is like insuring a house in Australia, but you don't live in Australia.  If the house burns down, the insurance company pays out. 

 

I am insured within Thailand, and when leaving Thailand, I get a short travel insurance policy, as I did last week for the Singapore F1.   

 

See the below link.  That's the "non residents" they are talking about. 

 

https://www.medibank.com.au/overseas-health-insurance/

Edited 16 hours ago by KhunHeineken

[4MyEgo]

14 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

I see you are again posting inaccurate information, your interpretations, and poor advice to members.

 

Welcome back NOT.

 

You just inspired me, as you did on Articles 18 & 19 where you still haven't admitted your wrong.....LOL, not that I have ever expected you to understand the meaning of the word, YOUR WRONG.

 

So, I will take it upon myself to email an insurance company in Australia and ask them the question, something on the lines of.....

 

I am a non resident of Australia, however am an Australian Citizen residing in Thailand for over a decade and am looking to obtain private health cover in Australia.

 

My question is, whilst I do not reside in Australia, can I obtain private health cover for within Australia, even though I am living in Thailand.

 

My residency status for tax purposes, is that of a Non Resident as I live in Thailand, and as I reside in Thailand for over a 180 days a year, I am considered a resident of Thailand for tax purposes.

 

Once I get a reply, I will post it, wrong or right, the latter would shut you down real quick wouldn't it ? 

 

I doubt it, because then you would bring something up, like, they are overhauling the system, making changes, like the DTA's....bla bla bla