A majority of Australians highly value the concept of a guaranteed income for life. It’s easy to forget that the Age Pension provides such a safety net, initially for the 65% of those who reach Age Pension eligibility age of 67. And further down the track to 80% of Australians in their 80s.
The Age Pension has changed quite a lot from the benefit that was first introduced for men in 1908 and soon after for women in 1910.
Ways to deal with Centrelink have also changed. Today we bring you up to date on Centrelink services and what to expect when you need to get in touch. To do so, we’ve gone straight to the top with a Q and A with Hank Jongen, General Manager. Here’s what he had to say.
Q. How many Australians are currently on Age Pension benefits?
And how many have a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card?
A. As of June 2024, over 2.5 million people receive the Age Pension and over 523,000 have a Commonwealth Seniors Health Care Card.
Q. How can you prepare for an application for the Age Pension?
A. Retirement is something we all look forward to, so I know people don’t want to wait longer than they have to. When you’re preparing to apply for Age Pension, it’s important to understand the types of documents you might need.
For example, we might ask for documents to show the balance of your superannuation or any other investments – so it’s important to have those handy before you start your claim.
Q. How early should you start an application?
A. I highly encourage people to apply for Age Pension up to 13 weeks before they become eligible. That could be 13 weeks before you reach Age Pension age or 13 weeks before you retire and become eligible. This gives people plenty of time to make sure they’ve provided all the right documentation.
Q. How long does a typical claims process take?
A. As I mentioned earlier, you can apply for Age Pension up to 13 weeks before you become eligible. That gives you plenty of time to provide all the information and for us to process your application. For the last quarter (July – September 2024), the average processing time for an Age Pension was 49 days. This is a big improvement from last financial year when it was 76 days. This is thanks to the government’s investment of 3,000 additional staff at the end of last year. Since the additional staff joined us we have made significant improvements across nearly all areas and are processing claims 60% faster than at the beginning of the year.
Q. How long are phone wait times now?
A. Also thanks to the additional staff, we’re now answering calls up to 60% faster since this time last year. Over the last three months (July – October), the average call wait time is down to 15 minutes. It’s important to note that how long you wait on the phone can depend on a few factors, such as the demand across the board on any given day, the particular phone line you’re calling, and seasonal peaks. We encourage you to do your business online with us when you can – like applying for the Age Pension or updating your details if you’re already on payments.
Q. What about Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC) processing?
A. Unlike an Age Pension, you cannot apply for CSHC early. You can only make a claim once you’re eligible (for example, you reach Age Pension age). The CSHC is subject to an income test. If you’re about to be eligible, I suggest getting your documentation ready to make a claim. For example, you may need your latest Notice of Assessment from the Australian Taxation Office. For the last quarter (July – September), the average processing time for a CSHC was 18 days, compared to 42 days last financial year.
Q. Do you have any tips on managing payments over Christmas?
A. The silly season seems to roll around so quickly, I cannot believe we’re there already. We have special arrangements for payments and services over the December and January holiday period. Our Service Centres and most phone lines providing Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support services will be closed on the public holidays. You can continue to do your business with us online through myGov during this time.
It’s also important to note there may be changes to the day you normally report your income from employment and the day you’re normally paid, if they would normally fall on one of these public holidays. Some people might get their payment earlier than usual.
Q. If your situation changes what does Centrelink need to know?
A. A common misunderstanding we hear is that Services Australia is automatically notified when your circumstances change. I need to clarify that this is not the case. It’s important for people to let us know about changes that could affect their rate of payment.
When your income and assets change – for example you sell your car or buy a new car, invest in some shares or your bank account decreases – you need to let us know within 14 days. If you don’t notify us within 14 days, we may pay you too much or you may be entitled to more Age Pension. Telling us about changes is easy. The best way is online through myGov. You can also call us on 132 300 or make an appointment to visit your local Service Centre.
Q. What if you disagree with a decision? Do you have any recourse?
A. If you disagree or want more information about a decision we’ve made, you can ask for an explanation or apply for a formal review.
I encourage people to ask for an explanation first, because more often than not, we may be able to provide you with more information and you won’t need to apply for a formal review. Once you’ve asked for an explanation of a decision, an experienced staff member will call you to provide more information. There is more information on our website that explains our review process in detail.
Q. What do you like to do over the holiday season, Hank?
A. I’m a bit old fashioned when it comes to celebrating Christmas. So right now it’s bringing out the Christmas tree and decorations. This year might look a bit different because my mother is in Aged Care and suffering from Dementia. So like so many other families in this situation, we’re trying to plan a way to ensure she can be included in celebrations without taking her out of her usual setting at the home.
However we celebrate, being surrounded by family is the most important thing for me.
How do you want to deal with Centrelink?
Not everyone wants to deal directly with Centrelink. Many Retirement Essentials members have preferred to access our support to process applications, maximise entitlements or to apply for a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. Retirement Essentials also provides a free Age Pension Entitlements Calculator to help retirees get started on their journey of retirement income funding.
Have you noticed a difference in Centrelink service availability?
What’s your experience been like?
My dealings with Centrelink have been amazing so far. My application process was a delight. I am still waiting to hear when I can start to get the pension, however, but it is encouraging as the process was not as cumbersome as I was led to believe.
Earlier this year I applied for the age pension. All I can say is the lack of knowledge of staff who were reviewing my claim was appalling. Centrelink need to give their staff more training. If this had happened in my case they could have saved the wages of at least five staff. I went from getting no pension to nearly a full pension just by knowing the rules better than they do. It’s their job to know the rules, not mine!
Hi Hank, I just wanted to say a few things which have burdoned me , firstly I would like to thank our government for our pension system, however i feel very strongly it is in need of overhauling, as people who work their entire life plus some, get paid the same as people who have never or hardly ever contributed ie ; Tax wise get the Same benefit, very unfair to those of us who worked so Hard for 50+ years, surely there should be an extra reward of 20 or 25 % for their Efforts, most of those Generations Contributed in so many other ways as well, most had family’s, many had Large family’s, they were pioneers of hard wok and Design for the Future, yet No Recognition of Reward ! just seems Very Unfair, even myself have raised a large family also taking in many youngsters in bad home situations, and never asked for help,just included them as another member of the family, when I retired I lived on my Super for quite along time before applying for the pension and I certainly did not have a big super only around $180 thousand, which in today’s terms is not alot,.then to rub salt in the wound I was also Scammed which Hurt very badly when your at the Blunt end of your funds so now I have had my moan which I suppose will fall on deaf ears, especially when there is monies involved, hopefully you will read this as I am sure I am only one of thousands in similar situation, thankyou D.H.
Hi Don, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I just wanted to clarify for you and any fellow readers who may misunderstand, we are sharing responses provided to us by Hank but we are not Centrelink/Hank himself. We are Retirement Essentials, a private company helping Australian Seniors navigate retirement with advice on all things from preparing for retirement to applying for the Age Pension and then managing your finances during retirement.
I have just started on the age pension and while it is good to get back some of the tax money that i paid over my long working life it would be great to be able to do extra paid work while i still can and not loose pension income. The work bonus is great but being a seasonal worker at a large camp ground it would be great to be able to do as many hours of work that i wanted to do without loosing any pension. Where i work there are a lot of grey nomads that would like to do the available work here but they don’t want to compromise their pension. The management here is mostly forced to hire back packers to do the work that pensioners could be doing.
Hi Gary, this is a common concern that people have but it shouldn’t necessarily stop you from proceeding. Although you may lose some Age Pension it will generally be less then what you earn from working and so ultimately you do end up with more money in your back pocket then not working. Our staff can take you through a comparison of what both scenarios would look like so you can see the pros/cons and decide if you would be better off taking on some paid work. If you are interested, please make a booking HERE.
Yes but people need to be aware that you lose more of the pension the more you earn and then you end up with a tax bill at the end of the year when you are taxed on the pension plus your earnings. In our case we end up losing the equivalent percentage of money as if we were earning around $200k per annum. Also if required to work extra in a fortnight you lose more pension and it is never recovered as the next fortnight you may not work. Pension needs to be tax free and then earnings taxed as normal.
hi, I am applying for the age pension in 6 months and I was planning on doing my application 13 weeks prior to elegability, I plan to work 1 day that is completely salery sacrifice .
will salery sacrifice of 1 days work impare my application or reduce my eligibility for a pension compared to simply working the day and getting the money in the bank.
Also can I apply 13 weeks early using an unsubstantiated income figure as at the time I apply I will still be earning 5 days instead of 1 and will have no payslips for another 13 weeks to substantiate my reduced income, thanks
Hi Stewart, Centrelink will assess your gross income so whether you salary sacrifice it to super or take it as money in the bank, Centrelink will be assessing the same figure either way. You can apply early whilst earning income in excess of the threshold so long as you definitely reduce it within 13 weeks of lodging your claim, if you take any longer then your claim will be legitimately declined and you will need to start again.
49 day ‘average’ wait is unlikely, this would mean many are getting approved in less than that. I’m at 106 days and counting, how is that affecting the áverage’?
I am on my third application for the Age Pension. The latest one was lodged on 10 April 2024. Centrelink continues to stonewall while telling me that it shouldn’t be taking so long.
If that is Hanks photo he’s the only one smiling. Every trip I make to Centrelink they all look like they are at or attending a funeral.
When I went in to apply for my card even with my birth certificate they couldn’t find me.
Birth certificate had me down as Suzanna. I have never been a Suzanna all my e I have been Susan on all documentation pass port, ATO, drivers licence, boat licence, Marriage licence, Medicare. Now they can’t find me. So after 66 years of being born here paying taxes etc… I was told I did not exist on their system. Took over two hours in their office before they could find my documents. I was born in N.S.W. The birth certificate I received when applying for my licence many years had no registry number and their computer could not marry up the fact that I was not a Suzanna.
As I didn’t exist I should have asked them to return all the tax I had paid since I was 16.
Even after spending two hours in their office it still took another 6 months to sort it all out.
Hi. I would love to know what checks centrelink do to see what assets overseas people have when they apply for our pension. it seems very discriminative that we as long time Australians are scrutinised yet I know there are so many foreign born pensioners who have property/s overseas and also bank accounts receiving rental payments from these properties.
I totally disagree with Centrelink giving people who have jobs a break on the Income Test that others are not entitled to. Why should people who earn income from investments be discriminated against?