Q I am 65 next year and I have been living in Ireland for four years but don’t have any health insurance yet. I keep putting it off because of costs and penalties applicable to older members joining. I was in the UK. What do you recommend for an affordable policy?
A There is no getting away from the age loadings, according to Dermot Goode, of brokerage TotalHealthCover.ie. At 64, you will have a 30-year loading.
This will add 60pc to the gross cost of any plan you join, the health insurance expert said. Also, any loading will stay with you for the next 10 years. You will also have to serve the standard waiting periods that apply to all new members, which includes the five-year restriction on any existing medical conditions, Mr Goode said.
If you really want to take out health insurance he recommends that you consider some mid-level plans. He suggests considering plans such as the Laya Signify scheme; the VHI Enhanced Care 250, or the Irish Life Health Benefit Access 300.
Each of these will cost between €860 and €974, and that excludes any age loadings. The plans outlined cover all public and standard private hospitals. You will need to bear in mind that each year you stay out of the system, the loading increases up to its maximum level of 70pc, Mr Goode said.
Q My husband and I own a house which was inherited and has been used for the past 50 years as a holiday home. It has served us well, but we now wish to give it to our son. What are the tax implications for doing this? It is valued at about €300,000, according to a local estate agent.
A There are unlikely to be major tax implications for your son, bar the Local Property Tax (LPT), according to the consumer tax manager at Taxback.com, Marian Ryan.
Your son will need to pay on the property and any tax on rental income should he rent the property out. Your son can inherit the holiday home from you tax-free, Mr Ryan said.
This is provided he has not yet received any other gifts of substantial value from you over his lifetime. This is because under inheritance tax rules, your son can inherit up to €335,000 tax-free from you and his father over his lifetime. As the value of the holiday home is currently €300,000, this property on its own will not trigger a tax bill for him.
Ms Ryan said you need to remember too that the small gift exemption allows anyone to receive a gift up to the value of €3,000 from any person in any calendar year without having to pay any tax on the gift. Under inheritance tax rules, it doesn’t make a difference to your son if you pass the property on to him after your death, or while you are still alive, though the value of the property may come into play.
If you pass on the property while you and your husband are still alive, you could both face a significant Capital Gains Tax bill
However, it is worth noting that if you pass on the property while you and your husband are still alive, you could both face a significant Capital Gains Tax (CGT) bill on this property.
As this property is a holiday home which you inherited about 50 years ago, it is likely to have increased substantially in value since you first inherited it, and much of this gain will be taxable.
However, if you wait until you die before you hand over the holiday home, no Capital Gains Tax bill will be triggered for you or for your estate, Ms Ryan explained.
Q I have a health insurance policy with VHI called Health Plus Access. I attend St Vincent’s Private Hospital oncology day ward on an ongoing basis. I find this policy expensive. Could you advise me on a cheaper policy, with no excess, that would suit my needs?
A Before you make any changes, Mr Goode suggests that you engage with VHI.
He said this is important as you should be covered for day-case procedures in this private hospital with no excess to pay on the current plan. If you are insured on the VHI Health Plus Excess or Health Access, you would have an excess to pay on each day-case procedure.
You also need to be careful if you are making any cover changes as you are currently in-treatment
Mr Goode said you also need to be careful if you are making any cover changes as you are currently in-treatment.
This means you need to ensure that all existing procedures, consultants and scans will be covered by any alternative plan.
Other lower-cost plans with no day-case excess that may be worth considering include the VHI Company Plan Extra Level 1 at €1,760 a year; Irish Life Health 4D Health 5 at €1,823; and Laya 360 Care at €1,972 per adult, Mr Goode said.
