Do I Have To Pay For My Partner's Care?
RNZ's money correspondent answers your questions. Send your questions to
If one person in a de facto relationship needs permanent medical care, does the Government require the other partner to pay for the care once the unwell patient's funds run out?
The basic answer to your question is that when your partner is being assessed for their ability to pay for their care, your income and assets will usually be taken into account.
If you're referring to medical care in a rest home setting, your assets and personal income affect whether your partner will qualify for a residential care subsidy.
'People who need residential care are required to pay for it themselves, if they can afford to do so. If they cannot afford it, they may be eligible for a residential care subsidy, which Health New Zealand pays directly to the care provider,' said Ministry of Social Development group general manager for client service delivery Graham Allpress.
'MSD's role is to check whether people qualify for this subsidy by performing a 'financial means assessment'.
'To get the subsidy, a person's income and assets must be under a certain amount. If they are in a relationship, the combined income and assets of both parties must be under a certain amount.'
People can qualify for the subsidy if they are 50 to 64, single and without dependent children, or over 65 and meet the income and means test. That means, even if your partner's funds have run out, your assets could still be taken into account.
If only one partner needs care, the couple combined need to have assets of no more than $155,873 not including the family home and car, or $284,636 if you do want the home and car in the assessment.
If it's other types of care that you're thinking of, it could be a good idea to contact Health NZ for a needs assessment.
There are options such as the supported living payment but eligibility for this is assessed on a household income basis, too.
I'm currently a NZ tax resident living in NZ, but previously lived in Australia (over a decade ago) and purchased shares on the ASX that I continue to own and receive dividends for (which I declare as part of my income). If I sold these shares now, worth about $150,000, what taxes would they be subject to? Specifically, would I have to pay a capital gains tax on the increased share value (as I would if I were an Australian tax resident).
This is probably a question for an accountant with expertise in Australian tax.
Based on information available online, it seems that you potentially should have paid tax on the shares in Australia when you stopped being an Australian resident.
Assuming that didn't happen, the Australian Tax Office is likely to be expecting capital gains tax to be paid on them when they are sold.
You aren't likely to have any New Zealand tax obligations.
Tax experts tell me that the authorities have access to a lot of data these days so it's possible that the Australian Tax Office will find out about any share sale and might get in touch with you.
I am 78 years of age and still work part time and also still contribute to my KiwiSaver. Am I eligible for the government contribution?
Sorry, no. While the government said it was going to start making contributions to 16 and 17-year-olds' accounts, it hasn't budged on the upper limit of 65.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
3 hours ago
- Scoop
Call For More Rural Psychologists To Help Farmers With Mental Health
There are disproportionately high suicide statistics in rural areas. , Hawke's Bay and Tai Rāwhiti reporter While many farmers are feeling good about record meat and dairy prices, mental health is still a massive issue with disproportionately high suicide statistics in rural areas. Depression is something Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford is familiar with, after his own battle began eight years ago. 'It's amazing how it creeps in. It affects your farm, your family and your entire life. 'I describe it creeping in like a fog – all of a sudden you find yourself in a bit of a mess and you need help to get out,' he said. Langford is grateful for the support his wife wrapped around him, and urges other farmers in his situation to reach out. 'The key for me was getting off farm, spending time with kids and family,' he said. The sector is welcoming a $3 million funding boost for the Rural Support Trust over four years to improve access to mental health services, but it's sparked calls for more clinical psychologists in rural areas. Clinical psychologist Sarah Donaldson told RNZ that through her work with the Trust she sees high demand from the farming sector. 'Our largest proportion for referrals is distress – from mild through to acutely suicidal. 'There are greater risk factors in the rural sector unfortunately – huge workloads, isolation, work and home are all wrapped up in one bundle and there's lots riding on it,' she said. The Rural Support Trust helps farmers access the help they need, which Donaldson describes as a 'lifesaving' service. But she's worried about a shortage of specialists in rural areas, such as clinical psychologists. 'We need more people that have some clinical training that can be attached to rural support or do outreach services. 'There are people scattered around the country but there's no specific channel to train in rural mental health currently,' she said. Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey assured RNZ that the government is working on a workforce plan in a bid to reduce wait times for patients needing mental health services, which he said will also have an impact in rural communities. 'But let's be very clear, one of the biggest barriers to people accessing timely mental health and addiction support is too many workforce vacancies,' said Doocey. He said a key factor is the lack of clinical internship placements. 'Sadly, only up to a couple years ago there was only 30 clinical internship places a year. We've committed to doubling that, growing it by 100 percent to up to 80 placements by 2027,' said Doocey. The new funding for the Rural Support Trust is on top of another $3 million over the next four years allocated through the Ministry for Primary Industries, and $2 million of health funding is being invested in the Rural Wellbeing Fund. Rural Support Trust chair Michelle Ruddell said the farming sector has been calling for this for years. 'We are immensely grateful for the funding and it means our rural people will be better supported. 'We are going to be able to deliver our core work – it's one on one, free, impartial and at a time and place that suits them,' she said. Ruddell describes the demand for their services as 'huge' and said a key part of the work is getting farmers to speak up when they need help. 'Looking after our mental health is really hard and it often gets left behind – our rural people not only struggle to ask for help on a day to day basis, but actually don't often ask for help very often for their own wellbeing,' she said. It's a challenge the group is up for, they're determined to reach more farmers in every nook and cranny of Aotearoa.
1News
4 hours ago
- 1News
Ruth Richardson calls for super age hike, warns of fiscal 'crisis'
Former finance minister Ruth Richardson has called for an increase in the retirement age, warning New Zealand faces a balance sheet crisis without urgent action. The newly appointed chairperson of the Taxpayers' Union, a right-wing political lobby group, told Q+A that government debt needed addressing. "We need to control our spending appetite, we need to bring debt under control, and we need to restore New Zealand's books to a state of fiscal responsibility," Richardson said. "From a central government perspective, it's clear that we have a crisis, and the crisis is looming — as it is in many other countries in the West, we're not alone." The architect of the 1991 "Mother Of All Budgets" said the Government should follow her previous reforms that raised the superannuation eligibility age from 60 to 65. ADVERTISEMENT "On my watch, we increased the age of eligibility from 60 to 65, with near a mutter. It was done as part of a broader package of reforms to put New Zealand on a sounder footing, and we need to do the same again," she said. "We should have a superannuation age of eligibility, just like the electoral boundaries. You just adjust it for — in this case — the data that tells you about the age of longevity." Richardson, who became aligned with ACT after retiring from politics, criticised the coalition government for ultimately committing billions more in spending at Budget 2025. She said: "We're starting to swamp education spending, we're starting to swamp defence spending — that is not defensible. We need a credible deficit track. "At the moment, we've got fiction. What we want is fact, and fact is going to require some pretty hard decisions taken about the issues... starting with superannuation." Ruth Richardson (Source: Supplied) She also rejected the characterisation that the country had a lack of funding for infrastructure, saying instead that too much money was being spent on "vanity projects" at the local government level. ADVERTISEMENT Finance Minister Nicola Willis has previously rejected suggestions she had broken an election promise to return to surplus by 2027. It was despite Treasury forecasts now showing a return to surplus wouldn't occur until 2029 under the Government's preferred accounting measure known as OBEGALx. By the traditional measure, known as OBEGAL, New Zealand wasn't expected to return to surplus until the 2030s at the earliest. OBEGALx excluded the costs of ACC. Richardson also advocated for asset sales, suggesting the Government should sell state-owned enterprises, including power companies, Landcorp and commercial broadcaster TVNZ — which she said was "probably worth a dollar". Richardson steadfast on views nearly 35 years on Speaking on Q+A, Richardson, who was recently made a companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the King's Birthday Honours, defended her 1990s reforms after being presented with poverty statistics showing persistent increases following her Budget cuts. When presented with data showing child poverty rates grown significantly after her reforms and never ultimately corrected, Richardson defended herself, saying doing nothing in her time would have been "the most immoral option". ADVERTISEMENT "We took our courage in our hands and did the right thing, and the economy prospered. You're not putting up the stats that showed the rise in growth, the rise in employment, the halving of the debt and putting the books back into balance," she said. "If you were balanced, you'd be showing those statistics." She added: "The real poverty was New Zealand's if we had done nothing. If we had done nothing, then New Zealand would have most certainly faced the crisis that the Labour government did in the mid-'80s. And in a crisis, the people who are hurt most are the poorest people, the people on the bottom of the rung." For the full interview, watch the video above Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
Scoop
6 hours ago
- Scoop
Call For More Rural Psychologists To Help Farmers With Mental Health
Article – RNZ There are disproportionately high suicide statistics in rural areas. , Hawke's Bay and Tai Rāwhiti reporter While many farmers are feeling good about record meat and dairy prices, mental health is still a massive issue with disproportionately high suicide statistics in rural areas. Depression is something Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford is familiar with, after his own battle began eight years ago. 'It's amazing how it creeps in. It affects your farm, your family and your entire life. 'I describe it creeping in like a fog – all of a sudden you find yourself in a bit of a mess and you need help to get out,' he said. Langford is grateful for the support his wife wrapped around him, and urges other farmers in his situation to reach out. 'The key for me was getting off farm, spending time with kids and family,' he said. The sector is welcoming a $3 million funding boost for the Rural Support Trust over four years to improve access to mental health services, but it's sparked calls for more clinical psychologists in rural areas. Clinical psychologist Sarah Donaldson told RNZ that through her work with the Trust she sees high demand from the farming sector. 'Our largest proportion for referrals is distress – from mild through to acutely suicidal. 'There are greater risk factors in the rural sector unfortunately – huge workloads, isolation, work and home are all wrapped up in one bundle and there's lots riding on it,' she said. The Rural Support Trust helps farmers access the help they need, which Donaldson describes as a 'lifesaving' service. But she's worried about a shortage of specialists in rural areas, such as clinical psychologists. 'We need more people that have some clinical training that can be attached to rural support or do outreach services. 'There are people scattered around the country but there's no specific channel to train in rural mental health currently,' she said. Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey assured RNZ that the government is working on a workforce plan in a bid to reduce wait times for patients needing mental health services, which he said will also have an impact in rural communities. 'But let's be very clear, one of the biggest barriers to people accessing timely mental health and addiction support is too many workforce vacancies,' said Doocey. He said a key factor is the lack of clinical internship placements. 'Sadly, only up to a couple years ago there was only 30 clinical internship places a year. We've committed to doubling that, growing it by 100 percent to up to 80 placements by 2027,' said Doocey. The new funding for the Rural Support Trust is on top of another $3 million over the next four years allocated through the Ministry for Primary Industries, and $2 million of health funding is being invested in the Rural Wellbeing Fund. Rural Support Trust chair Michelle Ruddell said the farming sector has been calling for this for years. 'We are immensely grateful for the funding and it means our rural people will be better supported. 'We are going to be able to deliver our core work – it's one on one, free, impartial and at a time and place that suits them,' she said. Ruddell describes the demand for their services as 'huge' and said a key part of the work is getting farmers to speak up when they need help. 'Looking after our mental health is really hard and it often gets left behind – our rural people not only struggle to ask for help on a day to day basis, but actually don't often ask for help very often for their own wellbeing,' she said. It's a challenge the group is up for, they're determined to reach more farmers in every nook and cranny of Aotearoa.
