Adding a fourth base to retirement plans
policies and premiums are available. Australians with hospital cover are eligible for a federal government rebate on their premiums up to 30 percent depending on their age and income level.
M
any financial planners say your retirement will rest on a threelegged stool – the age pension, mandatory superannuation and voluntary savings.
But those who want a really sturdy plan on which to perch their golden years should start working on a fourth leg – health care. Funding health care is a serious concern for our governments. There are a number of mechanisms to fund health care. • Medicare. Funded by a levy on taxpayers, Medicare provides free treatment as a public patient in a public hospital and free or subsidised treatment by doctors, specialists, optometrists and dentists. • Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. The Federal Government subsidises the cost of many medicines providing affordable access for Australian residents who hold a Medicare card. Medicines are further subsidised for those who also hold a concession card.
Importantly, individual Australians earning over $88,000 per annum and families earning over $176,000 who don’t have hospital cover pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge which is an extra one percent to 1.5 percent on top of the 1.5 percent Medicare Levy. • Hostels and nursing homes. The federal government regulates and partly funds residential care for the elderly who can no longer live independently. The government also funds programs to provide support for older people to remain living in their homes. Will these benefits continue? A big concern for government is that as society ages, there will be fewer taxpayers and a greater demand on health services. We can expect government policies to continue to make us more self-reliant in retirement and to expect us to make a greater contribution to our health costs.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Insure yourself. Premiums for private health insurance are much more affordable than costly hospital and specialist medical care. Save like mad. If you don’t have health insurance, build up savings outside superannuation for emergency health care purposes. Ask for help. If all this makes your head swim, seek out objective, professional advice. • Robert Goudie is an authorised representative of Meritum Financial Group Pty Ltd AFSL 245569.
The Weekly Advertiser quiz
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inally powered what?
what did it weigh?
2. Water corporation GWMWater has been nominated for Victorian sustainability awards for a landscape-scale project involving what?
5. What familiar breed of dog shares its name with a supernatural water horse from Celtic mythology?
4. Moliagul, off the Wimmera Highway, is probably better known for its goldfields history. It produced the world’s largest alluvial gold nugget called what and
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1. What firm won this year’s Powercor Grampians Pyrenees business of the year and where is it based?
B. 17.018kg. D. 71.018 grams.
6. Murtoa Stick Shed, built in 1941 and last used to store wheat in 1989-90, is held up by how many interior poles?
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Become informed. Ensure you claim all of your entitlements under Medicare and PBS. For instance, prescriptions are cheaper or free once annual costs reach a safety net threshold.
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3. A new agreement signed in Horsham last week involves an organisation started by what famous Australian born at Moliagul east of St Arnaud?
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There are ways to reign in health care costs, or at least be prepared for them.
Hang on a tick! A. 7.018kg. C. 71.018kg.
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A. 315. B. 560. C. 610. D. 185.
7. Still on Murtoa, four large and historical single-piston Hornsby engines, dating back to 1911 and kept operational by Dunmunkle Sumpoilers, orig-
8. What is the last name of the prominent Wimmera business family that owns Mitre 10 stores in Stawell, Ararat and Horsham? 9. What did William Guilfoyle, who died in 1912, create in Horsham, Koroit, Warrnambool, Hamilton, Colac and Camperdown as well as Melbourne? 10. What did Anastasia Withers, Anne Duke and Anastasia Hayes create based on a design by Canadian Henry Ross in time for a gathering on November 29, 1854?
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Answers: 1. Stawell’s Frewstal abattoirs. 2. Recycling 20,000 tonnes of concrete, steel and plastic material from decommissioned regional channels. 3. Royal Flying Doctor Service founder John Flynn. 4. The Welcome Stranger. The nugget, discovered by Cornish prospectors only three centimetres below the surface in1869, weighed 71.018 kilograms. 5. The kelpie. The supernatural version supposedly haunts Scottish rivers and lochs. 6. B. 560. 7. Wimmera Inland Freezing Works. They are believed to be the last remaining set of four such engines remaining in the world. 8. Jones. 9. Public gardens. He is responsible for the design of Horsham Botanic Gardens as well as Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens. 10. Australia’s Eureka flag.
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