James Coyle

What Centrelink can and cannot do

Robodebt, or to give it its full name, The Income Compliance Program, ended nearly 5 years ago in November 2019. The scheme was designed to recover money owed to Centrelink by people who had received more in payments than they were entitled to receive. This sounds reasonable in theory unfortunately, however, it used a computer algorithm and income averaging to calculate individual debts. It also implemented a system known as reverse onus which meant that it was up to the individual to prove they didn’t have a debt rather than the Government having to prove you did have one. Thousands of people were wrongly accused of being overpaid and this caused severe distress to those people and their families as well as to Centrelink staff tasked with enforcing the system.

One of the key reasons for over payments was the relationship status of claimants. Services Australia had used password ‘crackers’ and metadata to check Centrelink users’ relationship status. It seems this was in order to determine if welfare recipients who claimed to be single were actually in a couple relationship.

Can you really afford to help your grown-up kids?

by James Coyle | Retirement Advice

Do you believe that the so-called generational wars are a media beat-up? Or is there actual conflict between baby boomers and their children for a fair share of the financial pie?

It’s a question worth considering at a time when Australia is undergoing the largest ever intergenerational transfer of wealth – calculated to be worth some $3.5 trillion over the next 20 years.

Have you thought about your own situation? Have you considered how much you might be prepared to give – and when?

A recent report from financial services company, AMP, had some interesting insights.

Some believe that baby boomers are a ‘greedy’ generation, pocketing bumper tax concessions and giving little back. But the AMP findings suggest something different, with four in five Australians aged 65 and over believing that their children face similar or harder financial challenges than they did growing up. This is borne out by facts that baby boomers aged 25-39 (in 1991) were three times more likely to own their home outright than those aged 25-39 (in 2021).

Five worst reasons people delay their Age Pension application

by James Coyle | Centrelink Age Pension

A few years ago there was a terrific public safety advertising campaign developed by Metro Trains in Victoria called Dumb ways to die. It was designed to promote railway safety and became the world’s most shared public awareness campaign. It also spawned a video game of the same name. I was reminded of that campaign when writing this article and at the risk of offending some of our readers I was tempted to call this article Dumb reasons to delay.

My alternative title is apt in many ways as so many people delay applying for the Age Pension for reasons that are just plain wrong and ultimately very costly. It could be because they are misinformed, they believe an urban myth or just don’t understand the rules. Today I’m listing the five worst (dumbest) reasons and sincerely hope you have never made, or will make, any of these mistakes. But believe me when I say, many people do.