James Coyle

James has over 35 years experience in financial services with particular expertise in two of the key components of retirement finance - Superannuation and the Age Pension. He is passionate about providing the guidance and support that can help older Australians enjoy their best possible retirement. He lives in regional Victoria surrounded by dogs and chooks.
Not yet Age Pension age? The rules still apply

Not yet Age Pension age? The rules still apply

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This week the spotlight is on Sharon Sheehan and the way that her financial advice can make a big difference to the income of our members. 

One common mistake Sharon has noticed is how many members are confused by the term ‘superannuation account’. Recent research from AMP suggested that 70 % of older Australians don’t know what an Account-Based Pension is. Given that this is the most common mechanism for Australians to withdraw funds from their super account, this could be considered surprising. But Sharon didn’t think that was necessarily the case. She believes that much of the confusion comes when super funds give different names to their  Account-Based Pensions, for instance FirstChoice ( Colonial First State) or Retirement Income Account (ART) or Choice Income (AustralianSuper). It’s not exactly easy to discern that this is your own super, in draw-down mode. And if it’s not that easy to distinguish this as an income stream, this might lead to misreporting when you decide to apply for any government entitlements.

Another aspect of retirement income that Sharon thinks is not well understood, is how Centrelink views the super savings of both members of a couple. Just because you haven’t reached 67 doesn’t mean that the rules won’t apply. The Centrelink assessment of super for those below Age Pension age is well worth understanding when considering your retirement income needs.

Your assets test questions answered

Your assets test questions answered

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Two weeks ago we explained how the assets test works and how different assets can be treated very differently by Centrelink. At the end of this article, we asked if you find these rules confusing and you certainly answered – in the 70 comments which followed.

Because there are so many different rules, it’s impossible to cover each and every instance. But given the many different types of assets that people may own, today we wanted to share some of the specifics on investment properties, foreign pensions, household contents, exemptions and more. Here are the answers that our team (led by Guru Steven Sadler) gave to questions on these concerns.