We chatted to one of our customers, Tim Bridge (66-year-old retiree from Glendale NSW) and his wife, Bronwyn about their experience applying for the Age Pension.
Here is Tim’s story.
“We thought it was a complete ‘no-go’. We thought we were not eligible for the Age Pension or couldn’t be considered. Back then, we never really knew of the concept of a split pension, or the process where one spouse can be eligible whilst the other one isn’t. I’m not at pension age myself, but my wife is well and truly there. And it wasn’t until we looked at it on Retirement Essentials website, and did some testing and found out that, yes, my wife could be eligible. We thought we were totally ‘out of play’ for Age Pension entitlements altogether.
We found Retirement Essentials when I was looking for part time work on the job site when their advertisement came up. I just inputted the required information that they asked for on their Age Pension calculator. It said I was eligible and the government would give us some regular pension income. That’s what got me interested. I did that several times before I was convinced that there was something to pursue.
Tim’s reckons: “Check if you’re eligible, you never know”
Retirement Essentials streamlined the application process. It was absolutely a marvel. One year we thought it was impossible to get any Age Pension, and it was like, ‘where do we even start’? But with the feedback we got from Retirement Essentials, the Age Pension and the documentation being presented to us made the application easier. It certainly made the process better when we turned up at the Centrelink office to ‘do the business’.
Tim’s reckons: “Apply with Retirement Essentials”
It’s good value. I thought that the value for what they provided, given that Ally spent something like two hours alone doing the documentation was, personally, well worth it.
Tim’s reckons: “It’s good value”
Well (when we dropped off all the pre-filled forms at Centrelink) the exact words when we put it all on the table was “Oh you’ve done it all? That will be a great help.” I think she was surprised, basically. I think that was the quote from the young girl serving. “Oh, that’s marvelous”, she said.
I think Retirement Essentials streamlined the process. The more you present (to Centrelink) such as the completed package that you did for us with all the Age Pension application forms ready to go, along with all the supporting documentation, the better. It’s informative for the Centrelink staff as well. You help make it easier for them too.
Tim reckons: “Retirement Essentials streamlined the process”
Some of my friends are in the same basket and they had no concept. Given my wife’s age, we probably lost two to three years (or pension income) due to lack of information.
It gave me knowledge that I could pass on to other family members and some of my work colleagues that were in a similar situation to myself. They had retired,or will retire soon and had the same misconception about never being able to get the Age Pension. And there was a fellow I was talking to recently and I said, ‘mate if you’re older than your wife or she’s older than you, you’re able to split a pension’. He had no idea that one could receive an Age Pension while the other one couldn’t! So, one of the benefits is I’ve passed on a lot valuable information to some of my friends who hopefully will seek your help too.
Ally (who helped me from Retirement Essentials) sent me some of her business cards and I gave one of those out only yesterday to one of my work colleagues. I said, ‘Look, contact these people’. They certainly help you and walk you through the Age Pension application process. So yes, I have been spreading the word.
I’m just so glad that Retirement Essentials was so helpful. I promised to certainly fly their flag for them or I think they are professional and I look forward contacting them very shortly and saying, ‘yes it’s all been successful and my wife’s a certified Age Pensioner”.
Tim reckons: “I’m telling my mates”
Our specialist team members are ready to assist you with you Age Pension or Health Card application so that you don’t have to deal with Centrelink on your own. If you would like to book a consultation with our team you can do so here.
If you want to check your eligibility or how much you are entitled to receive you can do so by clicking below.
