Here are the facts The good news about Centrelink is that, as an agency of Services Australia, it is held accountable. The mechanism by which this occurs is through frequent Senate Estimates Committees which scrutinise Centrelink performance and its key...
There are two major problems with the Age Pension income test. Firstly, the limit on how much you can earn is too low for retirees who are seeking ongoing meaningful workplace engagement. And secondly, the rules are now so complex, applicants for an Age...
Last week we promised an update on deeming thresholds. Along with the main income and asset threshold changes on 1 July the deeming thresholds will also be increased. This benefits all those whose assets are deemed to earn income by Centrelink. We have...
July 1. It's one of my favourite times of year. We have passed the winter solstice and the days, albeit still dark and cold (at least down south), are slowly getting longer. And for the financial nerd part of me it is also the start of a new financial...
Anh and Kim had a dilemma. They consider themselves lucky as they have worked and saved hard to now have more than $1 million in assets and they own their home. They are both over 67 so can qualify for the Age Pension – except they don’t! Their...
The biggest win for retirees in this year’s Federal Budget was the decision to freeze deeming rates until 30 June 2025. We reported on this in our Budget 2024-25 wrap, but wanted to take time to further explain this for those who are not quite sure how...
Regular scheduled changes to the Age Pension will occur on 1 July. There are other changes as well which will have an impact on retirees and their income over the next 12 months. Here’s our end of financial year checklist to help you plan ahead. Spoiler...
Recent Treasury information revealed that 84% of retirement savings is held in Account-Based (or allocated) pensions. Yet responses to a survey conducted by AMP suggested that 70% of over 50-year-olds do not understand what an Account-Based Pension (ABP) is....
Last week we revealed a little known fact about the Age Pension – and that is, how very unfair the asset test rules are for renters and single renters in particular. We had a lot of media attention following the publication of this Age Pension anomaly. Our...