Centrelink Age Pension Articles

The upside of the downside

The upside of the downside

Sliding assets and rising rates deliver a bonus You’ve seen the headlines.  Share markets around the world and here in Australia have been taking a tumble.  In mid-June, the US share market is down just over 20% since the beginning of calendar year 2022. ...

Centrelink Rules Explained

Centrelink Rules Explained

Seven rules explained If it’s true that a picture is worth 1000 words when it comes to understanding, then our plain English answers to our member’s Centrelink questions also comes very close. In the past few weeks the very knowledgeable Steven Sadler (who...

Age Pension Thresholds July 2022

Age Pension Thresholds July 2022

Good things are going to happen on July 1 for the millions of Australians who are on an Age Pension – and hundreds of thousands of others who might now qualify. You may be surprised by this as generally speaking major Age Pension changes only happen twice a...

Cashless welfare card is dead

Cashless welfare card is dead

In line with its election commitment, incoming Social Services Minister, Amanda Rishworth, has announced that the termination of the cashless pension card is now underway. This announcement by the Minister coincided with a report from the Australian National...

Why don’t we have a universal Age Pension?

Why don’t we have a universal Age Pension?

During our Pillars of Retirement series we have received lots of feedback and commentary on the first of the pillars - The Age Pension.  Many of our members find dealing with Centrelink extremely frustrating and many others find the system extremely unfair....

Where does your money come from?

Where does your money come from?

Over the last few weeks we have been running a Pillars of Retirement series.  This series outlines the many ways people fund their retirement. These five major pillars are: The Age Pension.  For most people this is the most important source of income in...

When is a loan a gift?

When is a loan a gift?

And why does Centrelink care? A few weeks ago we recounted how the gifting rules worked for Mary, Jeffrey and Hannah. We received a lot of questions from members who were totally confused as to whether they had loaned or gifted money to family and friends....

What of those who rent in retirement?

What of those who rent in retirement?

Is it even doable? Our main topic this week shared the many ways that wealth in the home can be used to increase retirement income. But not everyone owns a home and those who don’t deserve support to fully understand all their options as well. It was once a...

When is a loan a gift?

Making the most of your home

... and mortgage in retirement Boosting your retirement income is the main aim for most retirees. In this, the second part of our 5-part series on the retirement income pillars, we detail the many ways your family home can offer both security and increased...