"seniors card discounts for council, water rates, ses levt etc maybe abolished" -------------------
Perhaps this has varied from State to State. In Qld the seniors card has never carried an entitlement for concession on council rates and neither has even the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. Only an actual Pension Card.
Could others comment on what the Seniors card entitlement is in other States?
"health card ( if you cant get old age pension ) allocated pensions counted in income test"
I understand this is only for new applicants, viz if you already have a CSHC then your entitlements will continue. But for new applicants as from - I think - January 2015, income from allocated pensions will be included in the income test.
This seems subject to some dissension, however. My accountant has suggested it's by no means clear cut as to what constituted "taxed income" which is all that is going to be counted in the new rule. We need to see the detail which isn't available yet.
I support the Budget over all, but this is just one example of inequity if it goes ahead.
Say you have two retirees: one has a home worth 2million and income of under the required $50,000 to get the CSHC. The other has a home worth only $400,000 but invested assets which provide an income of over $50,000.
The first person is entitled to full privileges and the second is not. Pretty hard to argue that's fair.
