Retired
Teachers' Association of Ireland
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What are the benefits of membership?
A: Membership confers a regime of support to assist in dealing with all types of situations and challenges that may present after a teaching career. Many of these are highlighted in the “Benefits” section. It is of great importance that RTAI has such close links with INTO, and thus is connected to a formidable negotiating Organization for retired teachers’ conditions.
Q: How do I know if my membership application has gone through?
A: Simple – keep an eye to your fortnightly pay-advice. If, after registering, you do not see the “check-off” appearing for RTA after a couple of months, contact the National Secretary. Application is generally seamless.
Q: A colleague told me to make sure I signed on for “Credits”. What are they?
Answer: The “Credits” in question are Modified Credits and are comprehensively explained in the May, 2009, Newsletter, [pages 9 and 10]. This can be linked on the “Newsletter” page on this site.
Because of the great disquiet that arose during recent times about Medical Cards, there is a comprehensive FAQ section below on the topic
Frequently Asked Questions about the Medical Card
Q: I have a Medical Card that is not due for renewal until 2015 - can I continue to use my Medical Card until then?
A: You will get a letter in the post asking you to check if your gross income is in excess of the income limits or not. If your income is within the single gross income threshold per week of €700, or the couples' gross income limits of €1,400 you will then retain your Medical Card.
Q: Is there a separate application form to apply for the Over 70’s Medical Card after 1st January 2009?
A: Yes, there are now 2 Medical Card Application Forms:
Form MCIA - for people aged over 70 whose income is BELOW the €700/1400 income limit.
Form MC1 - for those aged 18-69 and people aged over 70 whose income is above the limits above.
If you are over 70, and believe your income may be above the limits, you may still apply to the HSE for a Medical Card under the general Medical Card / GP Visit Card scheme, on the basis that your health circumstances cause undue financial hardship. The General application form MC1 is the appropriate form to complete in this instance.
Q: Does my dependant have to attend the same GP as me?
Answer: No. If you are an existing medical card holder and a new dependant is being added that wishes to attend a different GMS GP, indicate this at the top of the Doctor of Choice section of the Medical Card application form (Part 6 of Form MC1a), i.e. that you are not changing GP but that your dependant wishes to choose a different GP to the GP that you currently use.
The new GP will need to sign and stamp the form (Part 6) to confirm that he/she will be providing medical card services to your dependant/s.
Q: What does income mean? Is it gross income or net income?
Answer: It is gross income. Gross income is any income you receive, e.g.:
· In the form of a pension (social welfare, occupational or private)
· Employment – fulltime/part time, self employment, directorships
· Through investments or savings or rental income on property.
In essence, gross income is income before tax or other deductions.
In regard to rental income, this is the rent received, less necessary expenditure associated with the rental of a property. In regard to a self employed person, the assessable income is determined as the average weekly Gross Income including trade capital allowances.
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Q: How are savings and similar investments treated under the new scheme?
Savings or similar investments of €36,000 for a single person and €72,000 for a couple are disregarded. The remainder of savings and similar investments will be assessed on the income, calculated at a notional interest rate based on the prevailing interest rates at the time of application – currently 5%. This notional rate is reviewed on a quarterly basis.
Alternatively, where an applicant wishes to have the actual interest from savings / investments applied, and provides a certificate of interest paid on his/her savings in the last full calendar year, the HSE will apply this approach and use the most beneficial option in favour of the applicant (subject to submission of the appropriate certificates from the relevant institutions).
In this context it should be noted that in the case of some “longer term” investment accounts, where the interest is only applied at the end of a fixed period, if the client so wishes, the HSE will only take account of the interest earned on the date the investment matures. The alternative is as above. i.e. the annualised notional rate will be applied
In essence, only the interest or income earned on savings and similar investments will be counted as income, not the total values of the savings or investments themselves.
For example, if you are single and you have €50,000 earning 3% interest, the income is counted as 3% of €14,000 (€50,000 less €36,000), €420.00 a year or €8.05 a week.
Q: If my spouse has savings in his/her bank account, will that effect my entitlement?
Yes, as couples are jointly assessed.
Q: I have a summer home which my family and I use. Will that affect my claim for the over 70’s Medical Card?
Not generally. The family home and any other property will not be taken into account, unless you have an income from it, i.e. the house / land / property is leased or rented.
Q: What happens to people whose income is above the income limits?
People whose gross income is above €700/€1,400 (single/couple) a week will be asked to declare this to the HSE declaration form supplied with a prepaid envelope. You will also be told that you may still apply for a general Medical Card if your health circumstances cause you undue financial hardship.
Q: If my income is €10 per week in excess of the income limits, will I be entitled to the over 70’s Medical Card, as I spend more than that on medication?
No. If your income is in excess of the single €700 gross income limits or the couple €1,400 gross income limits, you are not entitled to an over 70 Medical Card. However, if you have high medical expenses, you can have your income and outgoings assessed under the general Medical Card scheme, where all your circumstances will be considered in order to determine if you have entitlement to a Medical Card or GP Visit Card.
Q: What about someone who is under 70 now and married to someone over 70?
If one member of the couple is aged 70 or over, they will both qualify for a Medical Card if their combined income does not exceed €1,400 a week. The Medical Card will cover the dependants of a person aged 70 and over, i.e. spouse (U/70 or O/70) and child dependants.
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Q: If my spouse / partner dies while we hold an over 70’s Medical Card, will the card be taken from me?
Case A: If I am over 70?
In the event of the death of a person covered by the over 70 medical card, the surviving spouse/partner may retain the medical card for a period of 3 years following the death, providing that;
· The death occurred on or after 1st January 2009;
· The surviving spouse/partner was aged 70 or over at the time of the death;
· He/she remains within the income limits of €1,400.00
At the expiry of the 3 year period, he/she will be assessed under the single income limits of €700.00.
Case B: If I am under 70?
If the surviving spouse/partner is under 70 yrs he/she will be assessed in accordance with the General Medical Card/GP visit card scheme and the appropriate income limits.
Q: Will all my medical bills be taken into account when assessing me for the over 70 Medical Card?
No, there is no provision under the over 70’s Medical Card scheme for any outgoings like the cost of medicines. If your have high medical costs and you do not qualify for the over 70’s Medical Card, you can be assessed for the Medical Card / GP Visit Card under the general Medical Card / GP Visit Card scheme. This assessment takes into account all outgoings, including health related expenses.
Q: If I am in a nursing home, can my nursing home costs be taken into account under the new scheme when assessing my income?
No, there is no provision under the over 70’s Medical Card scheme for any outgoings like the cost of health care. If your have high nursing home costs and you do not qualify for the over 70’s Medical Card, you can be assessed for a Medical / GP Visit Card under the general Medical Card / GP Visit Card schemes. This assessment takes into account all outgoings, including health related expenses incurred, e.g. nursing home costs.
Q: I am getting a Respite Care Grant as I am a Carer for my spouse. Is that grant taken into account in the assessment?
Yes, all income is taken into account in the over 70s Medical Card assessment, except non-cash benefits, e.g. free electricity, free travel, free TV license.
Q: Will the income limits be increased each year?
The legislation requires the Minister for Health and Children to review the income limits in respect of persons aged 70 or over each year by reference to changes in the Consumer Price Index.
Q: Will people over 70 who don’t have a Medical Card now have to pay the ‘Health Levy’ on their income?
No, the legislation provides that all persons aged 70 and over will be exempt from the Health Contribution (the ‘Health Levy’), no matter what their income is or whether they have a Medical Card or not.
Q: I have a pension from a EU State. Am I entitled to a medical card?
EU pensioners resident in Ireland and who are in receipt of a qualifying pension, as evidenced by form E121, are entitled to apply for a Medical Card provided they are not subject to Irish social security legislation, viz. in receipt of a Irish Social Welfare Pension. Pensioners from the UK must provide proof that they are in receipt of a UK social security pension, contactable on www.thepensionservice.gov.uk
Dependants resident in Ireland of pensioners with entitlement under EU legislation are entitled to a medical card also, on production of form E121, provided the dependants are not subject to Irish social security legislation, as above.
Example of the Means Test on savings and investments
Michael will be 70 in March 2009. He has pension income of €700 a week. His wife Helen aged 63, and is still employed at a gross wage of €500 a week. They also have savings and investments of €150,000 which give an annual income of €11,000.
Their capital (savings) will be taken into account
for the means test as follows:
For every €1,000 of savings he has, he gets €73.33 interest (€11,000
divided by 150)
The first €72,000 is ignored, so €78,000 (€150,000-72,000) is actually taken into account. The interest relating to this €78,000 is 78 multiplied by €73.33, which equals €5,719.74 per annum.
This is equal to €110 per week, when you divide the yearly amount by 52.
Therefore their weekly income assessable for the medical card is €700 from Michael’s pensions, plus €500 from Helen’s job, plus €110 from their savings, totalling €1,310. Michael will qualify for the over 70’s medical card, which will include Helen.