MBF- anyone got their cheques yet?

[onemummmy]

I did, just now in the mail *faints* I really dont understand the whole thing, apparently MBF and Bupa Australia have combined and for some reason are giving members money...:confused: anyone know more? Im on hold now about it cos I think I have to add it to my tax return and tell centrelink as it apparently will affect payments:rolleyes:

[onemummmy]

oh and stupid question lol what do I do with the cheque? Do I need to go to NAB(bank on cheque) or can I put it in my own bank? LOL not very experienced with cheques as u can see:o:o

[SorenLorensen]

damn...i want a check, do you think if i ring and ask nicely they will give one to me even if im with medibank ??? :laughing:

you can deposit the check at your bank.

when you get to the bank get a deposit slip (or if you have a deposit book you can do it on that) fill out the front with the details and then flip it over and on the back you write who its from, what bank they are with and the amount the check if for. then head up the the counter and hand it in.
you 'can' just pop it into a box at the bank instead of lining up but if its your first time i would line up just to make sure you did it right.

[kimbo]

We got ours!! :smiliedance::smiliedance:

It was deposited into our bank account, very very happy. Not sure about the tax thing, I asked DH and he said he is pretty sure we don't get taxed on it but I am not so sure :confused:
It is not like they are shares though as we didn't buy them at a certain price and then sell them and have made a profit and need to pay capital gains tax like you would with other shares.

They paid money to each member as MBF is a private company and not listed on the stock exchange so the only way for them to pay was to pay the members. That is a very vague explanation as I don't have the booklet they sent us anymore and I have major preggo brain atm.

[onemummmy]

lol Soren u crack me up!! :laughing: see you should be with MBF :p
kimbo, I got 250 'units' whatever that is LOL I dont have to put it on the tax yet, but we will be notified if we have to. Centrelink said as long as Im not investing it it wont affect my payment :smiliedance: Gosh I feel so excited to have some money to spend!!

[RmumR]

I got mine direct deposited into my account yesterday! I didn't know what the money was for to start with the i checked and it said MBF so then realised what it was......unfortunantly i had to give half of the payment to X as the membership was ufor our family so half is his i suppose....oh well i still get money so thats a bonus

[onemummmy]

ah bugger! yeah still u got some! Does anyone know how they figure out how much everyone gets? Their phone line is locked up has been all day

[RmumR]

yeah i know suppose anything is a bonus and even better it came in time for DD's birthday tomorrow so i can get her presents off lay-by this arvo without having to use the credit card!!yay!!!

i think they worked out how much each person gets depending on how long they have been with MBF and the rate of cover they have as in the longer you have been with them and the higher cover you have the more money you get.

[onemummmy]

yay! ah ok :detective: I was surprised to even get any!

[kimbo]

i think they worked out how much each person gets depending on how long they have been with MBF and the rate of cover they have as in the longer you have been with them and the higher cover you have the more money you get.

Yep that's how they worked it out. I am real glad DH was with MBF for several years and then when we got married we made it a family policy. I think we had about 8 years membership. I am not sure what the 250 units would convert to as we got a set amount deposited.

[RmumR]

so was i, i was stoked when i got the letter saying they were doing it so signed i and sent it back right away and have been waiting to see how much i would get and when etc...was very happy to see it in my account yesterday as didn't really believe it till i seen it!

[onemummmy]

wow!! yoU would have got heaps lol I was only a member for a year and got $360 haha maybe its a dollar a day :p

[onemummmy]

so was i, i was stoked when i got the letter saying they were doing it so signed i and sent it back right away and have been waiting to see how much i would get and when etc...was very happy to see it in my account yesterday as didn't really believe it till i seen it!

lol I didnt sign anything I got a letter saying it might happen but didnt really believe it if u know what I mean. Do you think the premiums will go up now?

[RmumR]

yeah you are probably right their premiums will prob go up now that they have given all their money away to us....haha.
i told X just to wait till we got our payment from them and then we can look into other health funds and see what will work out cheapest! lol. i wonder how many others will do that now too.

[onemummmy]

lol yeah thats true people may end up taking the money and going elsewhere!

[RmumR]

i'm going to check out the iselect website where you can compare all the diff funds!

[onemummmy]

hehe good idea :)

[onemummmy]

good luck bronny their phone lines have been busy ALL day! maybe check your bank account and see if they have deposited something?

[sam's mum]

Mum was all sad earlier on because she didn't have hers yet, but she just rang up and there was a cheque in today's mail. they have been members for about 30 years so right now here are my parents - :yelclap::smiliedance:

[onemummmy]

holy cow 30 years? What did they get?

[onemummmy]

I did check and there is nothing.

I never received a letter - or if I did I had preggy brain and didn't read it or send it back ...

I hope that doesn't make a difference - i'm spewing now because that money would be so good right now ...

I didnt send anything back either but I got a cheque, yours may be on its way?

[Mrs Potts]

I got a cheque too and had no idea what it was for! I have 1800 units, so quite a nice little windfall!

I never received the info pack, but you can get all the details from www.mbf.com.au and click on Demutualisation.

Re tax: from what I've read, it will count towards your taxable income as far as the ATO and Centrelink are concerned, but don't have to pay capital gains tax which is different again. It did say too that you can do your tax return for now without this information and they will let members know what they should do once the new Government stuff is sorted.

[onemummmy]

OMG peoples! U are so lucky! here I am thinking $360 was alot! LOL Though its not that much when you think how much we all pay inot the funds over the years:detective:

[sam's mum]

unfortunately there is an upper limit, otherwise they would have really cleaned up.

[onemummmy]

oh ok:o

[onemummmy]

haha not now you wont :p damn I wish I was a member for longer :laughing: still, thats $360 I can buy nappies with. Ooh and fooood lol I might need to take myself out to dinner!

[Mrs Potts]

BronnyGrace, we've been members for about 8 years too. We've always had top hospital and extras cover (family) and I got just over $2,500. So it will depend on your level of cover too.

Needless to say, since I didn't know about it, I nearly fell over when I saw the cheque!

[Hannahsmumma]

I have cover through NRMA who organise it with MBF...any chance I may recieve anything??

Was any one else through another company but still with MBF as the actual provider?

[TKK]

OH MY GOSH. I just saw this thread and remembered the letter I got from MBF yesterday, which I didn't open because I thought it was just the group thing for our tax. DH had opened it but had casually tossed it aside without really even looking at it.

Scramble, scramble...

$2500


OMG.

Thanks ladies for alerting me to this and TOTALLY MAKING MY NIGHT.... MAKE THAT WEEK... MAKE THAT MONTH... :yelclap::yelclap::yelclap:

[TKK]

Did I mention that I'm a bit like :D:D:D at the moment :laughing:

makes me feel better about the big internet order I did yesterday for cloth nappies which we *cough* totally needed *cough*

[polony]

I got my cheque too... pretty stoked with it but it seems to good to be true.... I am now wary about what they are going to charge from now on...

But I will try and enjoy the money none-the-less. I have been so broke for so long!

[shirls84]

We recieved the cheque today and had no idea what it was about - at first we thought it might have been some hoax lol after I did some reading so glad that its not!

[jag5000]

OMG!!! OMG!!! OMG!!! I can't wait to call tomorrow!!!

I have been a member for 15 years!!!!! :D

[JJ's mum]

Hi

We got our money too :D

From what most people are saying they didn't fill out the voting form??? Does that mean you still get some money without voting? I have a few friends who didn't vote and I told them they wouldn't get anything :confused:

[cheezelkat]

We got ours, I'd forgot we had even been a member.

Hurrah :smiliedance:

[kimbo]

From what most people are saying they didn't fill out the voting form??? Does that mean you still get some money without voting? I have a few friends who didn't vote and I told them they wouldn't get anything :confused:

Even if you didn't vote you will still get paid because you are a paying member. I think the idea of the letter was to give members a choice if they were in favour of it or not, not if you would receive the payment. :)

We voted only because I was hoping the more people who send in their votes with yes the more chance we would get a nice payment.

[jag5000]

just called and :D :D :D

I am getting 4 grand!!!!! :D

that just paid off my car! - it's not the best car in the world - but thanks to that cheque now it's ALL mine!!! YAY!!!

[mum23girls]

:smiliedance: for unexpected money!

If it is the same as what happened a few years ago, it was the same as the AMP takeover, you will have to pay the capital gains tax. Just make sure you check with the tax department to be safe.

ETA... there is a change to the CGT put forward, it still has to be passed... and they are yet to advise if tax is payable or not!!!

[Mikenzees mum]

1500 dollars we got yesturday im STOCKED wilk go toward our car YIPEEEEEEEEEEEe

Nothing with out cover changes does it

[becskids]

:smiliedance::smiliedance::smiliedance:
Got ours nly $1000 but me not complaining. Only been with them 9 mths. Also its a bonus that the payment is not added to your/partners tax this year, cause if it was i would be over oiur income for centrelink then have to pay them back. So a huge thanks to ato for not adding it. :smiliedance::smiliedance::smiliedance:

[onemummmy]

you still have to tell centrelink you got it, if you get any money from them :yes: they will let you know if it affects your payments. Mine is only $360 and Im not planning on investing it so she said thats ok it wont affect my payments.

[SorenLorensen]

lol Soren u crack me up!! :laughing: see you should be with MBF :p

hmmm so thats a no then :hissy::laughing:

[jaydensmum]

I got mine yesterday, i was over the moon. Here i was thinking it was a bill and instead got a lovely pressie. Mine was $2000!! :D It couldnt of come at a better time. :yes:

[kimbo]

How can you pay Capital Gains Tax on it when it wasn't purchased like normal shares for a certain price?? I find it all so confusing and I am hoping the ATO will as well and just its all right you can keep it all!!!

Anyway I won't worry about that now I will just enjoy the money......... I think we might treat ourselves to takeaway tonight :yelclap:

[sam's mum]

On 26 June 2008, the Government introduced a Bill into Parliament to change the law relating to the capital gains tax (CGT) treatment of policy holders of health insurers who receive cash or shares when their health insurer demutualises.

The proposed changes are contained in Tax Laws Amendment (2008 Measures No. 4) Bill 2008. This Bill will become law when passed by both Houses of Parliament and approved by the Governor General.

Under the proposed law, policy holders will disregard any capital gains and losses that arise when a private health insurer demutualises.

The changes to the law are proposed to take effect from 1 July 2007, and if enacted, will apply to the demutualisation of MBF.

The Tax Office will continue to provide regular updates on the progress of the changes through Parliament, and how they will apply to you.

Taxation treatment of your cash payment from MBF
Until the proposed new law is enacted, there is some uncertainty about what amount, if any, should be included in your tax return as a result of the demutualisation. In light of this uncertainty, the Tax Office will allow you to lodge your 2007/2008 tax return without including any capital gain from the receipt of cash from the MBF demutualisation at this stage.

The Tax Office and MBF will let you know what amount (if any) to include in your tax return and how to do this at a later time.

assuming the bill gets through parliament there will be no capital gains. Kimbo, capital gains is not just on shares, it is on a huge range of assets, so as the law stands now cgt would apply.

[dearcorrinne]

question about the demutualisation?
i was reading on mbfs website that you had to hold the policy on the 8th november 2007.

on the 8th november i was still on my mums policy and i didnt change to my own policy until early january..

so does that mean mum will get a cheque and i wont.. doesnt really bother me either just interesting to know.
havent had a chance to check my post box since giving birth to DD.

might call mbf tomorrow.

[jag5000]

the account holder gets the cheque... mine got put straight into my bank as they already had my details from doing previous direct deposits

[meagss]

I know someone who was a single member for 6 months and got a cheque for $1000... I've been a member for about 7 years (most single cover, the last 12 months we've had family cover) and got $1800. How does that work out?? Not that I'm begrudging my friend, but it doesn't seem to make sense!

[~Layla~]

BTW ladies, each 'unit' is worth $1.44c approx.

My husband has been a member for a few years now, so he got some $ (I'm with a different provider) but he will be leaving MBF shortly. A lot of their members are...

Once a fund demutualises, premiums go up, customer service goes down. It becomes even more about profits (and we all know how much private health funds already are about profit, so one can only imagine how bad they'll be now! :eek:)

Well, that's the theory. Who knows what'll happen :cool:

[borntobemummy]

thanks so much for writing this thread!! I had no idea about this, we actually moved a year ago and hadn't changed our address with them yet. I rang up this morning and changed it and the cheque had been sent to our old address, so she cancelled that one and is sending us a new one!! I can't wait, we soo need the money right now!:D:smiliedance:

[Izy]

so does that mean mum will get a cheque and i wont.. doesnt really bother me either just interesting to know.
spot on... sorry, but you won't be getting a cheque from the demutualisation
the account holder gets the cheque... mine got put straight into my bank as they already had my details from doing previous direct deposits Yes it may have been put into your acount... but only if you filled in the bank allocation form. Otherwise it's a cheque. The demutualisation list was kept seperate to the membership database. Records for direct credits were not used for the demutualisation cheques.

I know someone who was a single member for 6 months and got a cheque for $1000... I've been a member for about 7 years (most single cover, the last 12 months we've had family cover) and got $1800. How does that work out?? Not that I'm begrudging my friend, but it doesn't seem to make sense! Find the blue doorstop... sorry 'proposal document' and have a look at... section 5 from memory :rolleyes: Everyone gets a base amount, then also gets allocated extra usits based on scale (single, family etc) type (ambulance, ancillary, hosp etc), and amount of time in the fund.

........ but he will be leaving MBF shortly. A lot of their members are...

Once a fund demutualises, premiums go up, customer service goes down. It becomes even more about profits (and we all know how much private health funds already are about profit, so one can only imagine how bad they'll be now! :eek:)
You mentioned that this is just a theory... but who's got anything to actually show this will happen? The media scare that predicted mass walkouts was completely wrong. The funds can't put up thier prices unless the government approves it (no chance of that happening till april 09) and MBF has had smaller increases than many other funds for a very very long time... so how is all this going to effect it?

If you do some research into the company BUPA you will see that they have a very community minded approach that leads them to re-invest profits into community, education, research and development, even childcare and home/nursing care facilities. The merger has already lead to a shake-up of management... from my experience that usually leads to more effective management and reduced operating expenses. Thats a good thing that may well lead to LOWER rate increases....
But by all means drop out of the fund. I won't be.

[Izy]

I have cover through NRMA who organise it with MBF...any chance I may recieve anything??

Was any one else through another company but still with MBF as the actual provider?
You already got a payout when MBF bought NRMA :laughing: I'm under the impression that you won't be getting a payment ut you can call 133 505 to make sure (be prepared to wait a LONG time on that phone though)

OMG! $2,500!

I originally had family cover - when married, then changed to singles cover, then back to family just recently when I had baby.
Just double check that you are on a 'sole parent' rate rather than family. Family is 2x single rate, but sole parent is 1.6x single

For those looking at I-select, remember that they do get paid by the funds, and thier recommendations often reflect that. For anyone who has MBF and is looking at other providers... remember that MBF has premium covers. Very few MBF covers have exclusions, benefit limitation periods or restricted benefits. Those three terms are horrid horrid things. Be aware that be removing something like cardiac, means that if you are in hospital for something routine, but have an adverse reaction to the aneasthetic and go into cardiac arrest or have an arythmia (sp?) then none of that admission is covered (big big bucks to pay yourself). And as for removing cosmetic/plastic/reconstructive surgery... well if I was in a car accident and had to get reconstructive surgery for burns etc... last thing I want is to be waiting in the public system.

In saying that, if you find better elsewhere GO FOR IT! :laughing: I've told my mum to keep an eye on her cover for now... and each rate review we check what they have changed in the cover and thier price changes and compare with MBF. 5 years she's kept it... 4 years the other fund won't sell it anymore :laughing:

Just make sure any decision is an informed decision.

[Mrs Potts]

Izy, I hope you don't mind if I ask a question, since you seem to have your head around all this? I never received the info pack, I've downloaded it but haven't had time to read it yet.

Anyway, is this demutualisation similar to IAG? That is, each member is now a shareholder, with dividends payable (and taxable) each year? Or was it a one-off payout?

Cheers

[Izy]

it was a one-off payout in lieu of shares.

So instead of becoming shareholders, we've all been paid