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. ...
Centrelink Age Pension Articles
Big increase to pension rates
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...
Combining your investments with the Age Pension
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...
Annual Message from the Chair
Thanks for your interest in Retirement Essentials. It’s been a challenging year, hasn’t it? With Covid 19 lingering and varying and forcing us into short or prolonged lockdowns. I’m sure it’s brought its difficulties for you, just as it has for me here...
Couple or Single? Why is this important when you apply for the Age Pension?
When it comes to applying for the Age Pension many of our members have asked us questions like: “Do I apply as a single or as a couple?”, “What if my partner is younger than me, do I have to wait?”, “Why does Centrelink ask such personal questions about my...
Deeming thresholds have increased
What are deeming rates? The way they work is that Centrelink determines that your financial assets are deemed to earn a certain rate of return, regardless of what they actually earn. This return is used to assess your eligibility for entitlements such as the...
Age Pension thresholds July 2021
Centrelink have announced changes to Age Pension income and asset thresholds. This could mean more Australians will now qualify for at least a part pension and those already on a part pension could receive more. A couple of weeks ago we wrote about what a...
What a difference a dollar makes
We hear of many people that don’t apply for the age pension because they don’t think it is worth it. “I’ll probably only get a few dollars so it’s not worth the effort” is a common refrain. What many people don’t consider are all the fantastic benefits you...
The Pension Loan Scheme
The Pension Loan Scheme (PLS) was enhanced in the budget last week. Many of our readers have asked that we tell them a bit more about how this works. So what is it? The Pension Loan Scheme allows people to top up to an amount of up to 150 per...