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.
I don’t think my husband or I are eligible for a pension but would like to be sure.
Hi Lin
We would like to help you calculate your Age Pension eligibility. Have you tried our online Age Pension calculator at https://retirementessentials.com.au, it only takes 2 mins. If you want some help with this just give us a call on 1300 527 727.
If my wife and I get you to get a health care card for us.What would it cost us.
Hi Gregory. My apologies for the delayed reply. Our service will cost you $396
We recently applied for and were rejected for Age Pension due to residency requirements.
Before applying we looked up the immi.gov website where it says that if you were granted a temporary or permanent residency visa before you arrived in Australia, the date you first arrived on that visa is your Lawful Residence Date.
We were granted our temporary residence visa in September 2000 and we arrived in Australia on the 2nd February 2001. So according to immi.gov that is our Lawful Residence Date.
We became permanent residents in April 2004 and citizens in January 2007.
Due to family circumstances we had to return to the UK in July 2011, but finally returned to Australia in November 2020.
Now according to Services Australia our lawful residence date doesn’t mean a thing, the date that counts is your permanent residence date ( April 2004). The fact you have to pay tax and stamp duty etc etc when you are temporary doesn’t seem to matter.There are no benefits to temporary residence.
It is resident for 10 years with permanent residency.
That is unless of course you know better….I’d love to hear your thoughts
I wud like to know more of the age pension processing and elibility!
At present we’re still ( my
Husband &I) on PM visa for more than 5yrs. Our
citizenship application are
on process for almost a yr
now! Are we eligible for the age pension?
Hi Carmelita
To be eligible for the Australian Age Pension you need to have been a resident in Australia for 10 years with 5 of those years being consecutive. If you meet this criteria and are already 65.5 years old, you may be eligible to apply.
According to your online calculator my husband is eligible for some pension but not everything was covered. We have a self managed super fund and we lent our daughter some money. Do those things need to be taken into your account?
Hi Frances, your self managed super fund will count as an asset and the total value needs to be added to the Superannuation question in the free online calculator. As for the loan to your daughter, this will also be considered an asset but as there is not a question specifically for this in the calculator itself, it is best you include this in the Investments question along with your bank balance estimations. I do hope this helps!
Difficulty completing question 24 residency status on Centrelink pension application. My wife moved her in June 1999 from NZ but I actually worked overseas moving permanently to Australia September 2007 being fully employed till April 2020. Both hold NZ passports. As Border force do not grant a visa on entry ( NZ passport holder)your most recent entry into Australia is deemed to be ‘day one’ 2018 in our case on returning from holiday overseas. Which is obviously wrong as my wife has lived here permanently since 1999 (22 years) and me 14 years.
Hi Ian, thank you for your comment.
It is best to check your residency details with the Department of Home Affairs (they have online support as well so you do not have to wait on hold) and ensure you have the correct details for your application. Australia and New Zealand have a strong social security agreement and often “shared” pensions so from the information you have included, it looks likely that residency will not be an issue for your application. You can email us or call us on 1300 527 727 for further information after you attain your residency details.
Many thanks
Not sure if I am eligible as yr questionnaire doesn’t cover all details . So once the proper paperwork is done , will u be able to tell if I am eligible , or will it still go to Centrelink and I need to await their decision? And if all this is done & I am not eligible , do I still have to pay you a fee , which is ?
Hi Irene. Our full application process covers all the additional details and will assess whether you are still eligible before the payment process. Our system checks and will not let you proceed to payment if we calculate you will be ineligible. The fee is $396.
Cheers
Hi I want to retire at the end of the financial year I’m self-employed what happens with last financial years income
I am 67 currently working 5 days a week and would like to find out if I am eligible for a health care card or do I have to wait until I stop working or earn less money.
Hi Marion, great question! You can complete our free eligibility calculator HERE which will let you know if you are eligible for either the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card or potentially even the Age Pension.
How do you value your assets like cars,caravan and furniture, will it will be different to how you value for insurance replacement?
Hi Ray, great question. Many people do over-estimate the value of these assets. It is not replacement value, or the insured value that needs to be provided.
Centrelink are looking for the resources you have to use if these assets are converted to cash. As an example, for cars you could try something like a Redbook valuation or a trade-in value.
I’m not sure if I am eligible to receive a part pension because my situation is not straight forward as it involves giving money away to our children to help them buy a house (3 children, gave away about $250k in last 3 years) and sold our former house to our son for about $100k less than market value. I am of pension age but my wife is not and we own our home. My question is if you work out that I am not eligble to receive a part pension do your fees still apply ?
Hi Doug, great question, always good to be cautious! I would recommend you book a phone application with us via THIS LINK. This way you only have to pay for the appointment up front and not the full service. At the end of the call once we have gone through everything we can confidently advise if you are eligible (and if so for how much) and then you can purchase our concierge service with confidence or if you are not eligible we can let you know how/why and what your options are moving forward.
I was married in Thailand in 2021 to a Thai national and separated (not divorced) 2 years later. I am now residing in Australia to get my pension. Can I apply for single pension? Furthermore, I have an apartment in Thailand but it is obviously not my primary residence, thus it should be a an asset. I do not have a primary residence in Australia – no rental agreement, no lease, no ownership. Is it a problem to not have a primary residence.
Hi Allan, thanks for sharing your situation. You can declare yourself as separated but not divorced and apply as a single applicant however it is ultimately at Centrelink’s discretion if they agree that you are single/separated depending on the specifics. The property you own in Thailand will be assessed as an asset of yours. Yes you can apply as a non-homeowner, not having a formal lease or tenancy agreement just means you will not be able to receive rental assistance payments on top of your pension.