Three Centrelink, Medicare and pension questions answered

Q. I have heard that the rules for assessing account-based income streams have changed. What do these changes mean? Do people who receive Centrelink payments need to do anything differently?

A. On January 1 this year, the deeming rules that apply to financial investments were extended to account-based income streams (allocated pensions).

If you have been receiving a Centrelink payment and commence an account-based pension this year, or have been receiving an account-based pension and start receiving a Centrelink payment, your account-based pension will now be treated as a financial asset, subject to the Centrelink deeming rules.

Instead of asking you to declare how much income you are actually earning from your financial investments, Centrelink "deems" that you are earning a certain percentage based on the level of assets you have. The deemed income will then be used when assessing your eligibility for payments such as the age pension.

If you were already receiving a Centrelink payment and an account-based pension before January 1, 2015, then nothing will change for you.

Q. My husband and I have booked an overseas holiday later this year. Will this impact our age pension?

A. Generally, your payments will continue for the time you are overseas.

However, your rate will be reassessed, depending on how long you are away.

Once you have been outside Australia for six weeks, your pension supplement will reduce to the basic amount. Your concession card also becomes invalid at six weeks but will be automatically reactivated when you return.

If you are out of the country for more than 26 weeks, your rate of age pension will be calculated on the length of time you were an Australian resident between 16 and age pension age.

This is called your "Australian working life residence". In most cases, the maximum means-tested age pension rate is payable if you have a working life residence of 35 years or more.

As a general rule, age pensioners only need to contact the Department of Human Services if their overseas holiday is expected to last for longer than six weeks. Visit humanservices.gov.au/paymentsoverseas to find out more.

Q. How do Medicare rebates work?

Next time you visit the doctor, remember there's an easy way to claim your Medicare rebate without needing to go to a Medicare office.

Medicare electronic claiming lets you claim your rebate either over the counter at the doctor's office or online.

The number of claims lodged electronically has more than doubled in the past four years. Almost 95% of all Medicare services are now lodged electronically.

Perhaps the most convenient way to claim electronically is over the counter at the doctor's office. More than 85% of general practitioner claims are now lodged this way.

This means one less place to visit when you're under the weather, or when you're looking after a sick family member.

You can speak to your doctor to find out if they offer Medicare rebates over the counter.

If they don't, you can still make a claim for common rebate items (such as a basic check-up) using our Express Plus smartphone app or online services through my.gov.au.

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