Who’s getting July’s $750 COVID-19 economic support payment?
Retirees, other pensioners and many families are in line for the second round of government COVID-19 stimulus payments from mid-July. Find out if you qualify …
Saver HQ
Don't miss out on the headlines from Saver HQ. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A second COVID-19 economic support payment of $750 will soon flow to millions of retirees, families and other government benefit recipients, but some who received the first cash boost in March will miss out this time.
Age pensioners, Family Tax Benefit recipients and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders are among those in line for the payment in mid-July.
However, the Federal Government has a narrower list this time around, and those who have been bumped off include recipients of JobSeeker, Austudy, ABSTUDY and Parenting Payment.
Retirement specialists say seniors whose income or assets have dropped during the pandemic should check if they might now qualify for a part pension or CSHC.
Later Life Advice founder Brendan Ryan said where possible it was always good to receive a part pension, even if only small.
“You get $1 of pension and suddenly you get a pensioner concession card with 40 or so different programs,” he said.
“The savings can be thousands of dollars.”
Retirees who don’t qualify for an age pension can still apply for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, which has no assets test and an income test allows couples to earn up to $89,290 a year and still qualify.
“Recent changes in deeming rates has meant more people are eligible for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, and the second stimulus payment of $750,” Mr Ryan said.
Around 4.2 million Pensioner Concession Card holders and their dependants may receive free hearing assessments and hearing rehabilitation, including the supply and fitting of free hearing aids from a range of service providers.
CSHC card holders are not eligible for this concession
“Commonwealth Government concession cards are also used by state, territory and local governments, and some private enterprises, to provide cardholders with other discounts on things like utilities, council rates and public transport,” a Department of Social Services spokeswoman said.
“The Government has committed $260 billion toward economic support and stimulus for Australians throughout the coronavirus period.”
However, some people appear to have slipped through the cracks.
People with a Low Income Health Care Card, of which there are about 163,000 cardholders, have missed out on both payments, and their efforts to get answers from government agencies and politicians for months have been fruitless.
“I now think there has been an error in leaving the card off the eligible list and they just flatly refuse to acknowledge or rectify the mistake,” one frustrated cardholder said.
Originally published as Who’s getting July’s $750 COVID-19 economic support payment?