A joint study conducted by the National Seniors Australia (NSA) and Retirement Essentials, has confirmed that applying for the Age Pension is a fraught experience for many older Australians.
According to Retirement Essentials founder and CEO Paul Rogan, the report offers a unique insight into the challenges confronting prospective Age Pensioners who deal with Centrelink, and reveals for the first time the scale of the problem.
“In recent years, the media has increasingly reported complaints from the seniors’ community of long Centrelink phone wait times, and horror stories of claiming issues. But, until now, there has been no independent research into these issues,” said Mr Rogan.
“Our study, conducted by National Seniors Australia, proves beyond doubt that the Age Pension application service is a deeply complex and frustrating experience for many.”
Retirement Essentials commissioned the NSA to produce the report, The Centrelink Experience – From ‘waiting, frustrated, hopeless’ to ‘helpful friendly, positive’. The NSA surveyed their members who had recently applied for the Age Pension with over 4,500 seniors responding.
“This is an important document for senior Australians and public policy stakeholders. It shines a light on a vast problem which has been ‘hiding in plain sight’,” said Mr Rogan.
The study found conclusively that less than 4 in 10 seniors are satisfied with the current Age Pension application process. Specifically, it also found that 88 per cent of people in the survey were dissatisfied with Age Pension application forms and processes.
“I was surprised by how widespread this problem is. If the survey data is reflective of the whole community, then based on demographic trends over 153,000 Australian seniors each year are having a negative experience when applying for the pension.
Mr Rogan argues this is significant because of the practical impact on vulnerable individuals.
“Beyond those who are simply frustrated, there are many eligible people who actually give up on accessing their entitlements. And, when the purpose of the Age Pension is to be a safety net, we need to do more to assist seniors to navigate the complex process and support them.”
Retirement Essentials has recently launched a service that combines an easy to use website with good old fashioned, accessible telephone service that solves many of the issues identified in the report. The Retirement Essentials Age Pension service is a new, smarter way to apply for the Age Pension. Crucially, the website is easy to use because it’s been designed with seniors, for seniors. “We worked with Seniors to better understand how they prefer to interact with technology and we quickly learned that a hybrid service that links good old-fashioned customer service with human-centred technology would work best,” said Mr Rogan.
“In a country like Australia where people have worked hard and paid taxes their whole life, it’s simply not fair that government makes it hard to apply for the Age Pension,” said Mr Rogan.
“We believe every Australian should be able to access affordable support when they reach retirement age, which is why we have worked with everyday seniors to design an Age Pension service that helps them secure their entitlements with confidence”
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Highlights from ‘The Centrelink Experience’ report
- The number one complaint is the Centrelink call centre – 95% of respondents were dissatisfied. This appears to relate mostly to the wait times and indicates staff resourcing is a major issue.
- This overall time it takes to apply for the Age Pension is the second major grievance.
- Interestingly, the online Centrelink portal also came in for sharp criticism. 67% of respondents were dissatisfied with the online pathways that Centrelink offer for age pension application.
- Most significantly, 82% sought assistance with their application process – not feeling confident enough to go it alone.
About Retirement Essentials
Retirement Essentials is a member-based financial technology (‘fintech’) service for Australian seniors that gives everyday Australians access to affordable financial advice.
Retirement Essentials was founded by Paul Rogan in 2017. Prior to establishing Retirement Essentials, he was a senior executive with a number of large financial institutions including MLC, NAB and Challenger Limited. Paul boasts 40 years’ experience in the financial services industry.
Retirement Essentials has launched a new Age pension application service that provides older Australians with a smarter way to both get and keep their age pension.
Over 50,000 Australian seniors have checked their eligibility via the Retirement Essentials Age Pension calculator.
DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT “THE CENTRELINK EXPERIENCE”
I am turning 66 years old this coming october and have left my employ in February 2016. A wish to apply for age pension. how do i use your services? is there a fee to join?
Hi May
We would love to help you get access to your Age Pension entitlements. There is a fee for our service – it is $330 (incl GST). For this price we do all the hard work for you – completing your forms and providing you with the required support to deal with Centrelink. Our customers say our service is worth every cent.
If you would like to get started with the help of Retirement Essentials just give us a call on 1300 527 727 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm AEST).
I’ve been on lost income insurance from Feb 2021 been off work since November 5 2020 . I’m 65 years old and had a couple of operations . My problem been here since 1985 from New Zealand .can I get early retirement here
Hi George. The age at which you can apply for the age pension is based on your birthdate. On 1 July 2021, the Age Pension age increased to 66 years and 6 months for people born from 1 July 1955 to 31 December 1956, inclusive.
If your birthdate is on or after 1 January 1957, you’ll have to wait until you turn 67. This will be the Age Pension age from 1 July 2023
Based on what you have said you don’t meet the current application age but there may be other benefits available to you. The Department of Social Service has more information on benefits for Seniors which you can find here.
I will be 66 in June 2022 when can I apply for age pension
Hi Robyn, thanks for reaching out! If you complete our free eligibility calculator HERE we will email you a report confirming the exact day/date you can lodge your claim with Centrelink (including the 13 weeks prior to turning of age that Centrelink allow you to apply) as well as how much pension you you could potentially receive.
Allyson, was a very helpful person and made the process of completing all the required paperwork for the pension so very much easier. We would have been lost without her help and kindness. I will be recommending Retirement Essentials to all my friends as they are also approaching pension age. It was a delight dealing with this organisation and I look forward to my/our continued association for years to come.
I will need your advice in next 12 months.
how long before u retire should you apply for the age pension. i turn 66 on 28th August 2021
You can apply for the age pension 13 weeks before your eligibility age. Currently the age pension eligibility age is 66 but it will increase to 66 1/2 from 1 July 2021 which unfortunately will delay the age at which you can apply by a further 6 months.
I have been trying to apply for a part pension for more than a year and when I finally got all the paperwork completed Centrelink took 12 weeks to reply.
The reply stated that my assets made me ineligible for the pension.
The problem is that they state my assets as $1.47 million which is exactly double what my real assets are. now I am trying to get back in the system and try again but it is hopeless.
I first applied for the age pension 13 years ago, when it was mainly a written form process. The experience was fairly painless if you prepared thoroughly with bank statements, etc. I lost my pension when lucky enough that my investments grew enough to make me inelligible for the pension. With the latest downturn in the economy however I am once again elligible and went to Centrelink to re-apply. The system is now highly automated and computer intensive. I am reasonably computer litterate but could not remotely handle the process without help. The staff at my local Centrelink office were very proficient and helpful but it involved several visits and interviews over a number of weeks and was somewhat stressful.