On January 1, 2017, there was a major change in the assets test for those on an Age Pension. Whilst the assets test threshold increased (the good news), the taper rate doubled, meaning that those on a part pension, with assets over the threshold, lost their...

The first big mistake is assume you are not entitled to anything. Two thirds of Australians will be entitled to a full or part Age Pension at some stage in their life. And for the remaining third of Australians who do not currently qualify, at least half...

The second money mistake is to not know the details on timing – this can have serious consequences if you get it wrong.  The Age Pension used to be much simpler, including the qualification age of 65 for those no longer working. It’s currently 66.5 and...

Centrelink uses deeming rates to determine how much you earn. These earnings are added to any other income streams and this total is used to assess your age pension eligibility and the rate you will be paid. The reason a ‘deeming rate’ is used is because...

A new bill has been introduced to the House of Representatives to curtail the use of Cashless Debit Cards (CDCs) for older Australians. The intention of giving welfare recipients this card was to prevent them from spending on substances which are harmful,...

If so, how can you maximise your entitlements? At any given time about 65% of Australian retirees are receiving either a full or part age pension. But age pension entitlements tend to vary depending upon your age and lifestage. Just under 450,000 Australians...

The new age pension rates came into effect on Monday 20th September.  Nearly 4 million Australians get some support from the age pension so the increase to their fortnightly pension payments will be very welcome.  The new rates are shown below.  ...

Age Pensioners will enjoy the biggest increase to pension rates in 7 years. Nearly 2.6 million Australians are on the age pension so this 1.4% to rates increase will be very welcome.  Last September there was no increase at all for the first time in 24 years...

Last week we talked about the role of the Age Pension as the foundation of most Australians’ retirement plans - even for those who are not eligible when they first retire. But most people would like a higher income in retirement than the Age Pension...