What are the main changes which will affect retirees and their income over the next 12 months?
Here’s a handy End of Financial Year (EOFY) checklist to keep you up-to-date. You may wish to also share this with friends and family. Some changes are not yet legislated, so keep an eye on your Retirement Essentials emails, as we will confirm these rules as soon as they do become law.
Income and Asset thresholds will change
Income and assets tests change three times a year. The upper (disqualifying ) income and asset thresholds change on 20 March and 20 September, in line with indexation (based upon the CPI figures from the previous 6-month period). The lower thresholds change just once a year. This means that they will change on 1 July – and this is likely to increase the number of people able to qualify for a full Age Pension.
The specific amount of the new limits will shortly be confirmed by the Federal Government. As a benchmark, last year the income test limit was increased by $8 for singles and $12 for couples combined while the asset test limit (for non-homeowners) was increased by $22,250 for singles and $28,500 for couples combined.
How to plan ahead
You can check out the current thresholds here and use the Age Pension Entitlements Calculator to test your current Age Pension status. You may be entitled to a higher fortnightly payment after 1 July. Or if your entitlement is currently borderline, you may now become eligible for an Age Pension as well as the automatically issued Pension Concession Card.