by Kaye Fallick | Sep 19, 2025 | Centrelink Age Pension
The twice-yearly Age Pension indexation has now been announced with changes due to start on 20 September 2025. The tables below show the changes which affect retirees, as confirmed by the Department of Social Security (DSS) on 19 August. The new payment rates...
by Amanda Hardy Lai | Sep 19, 2025 | Centrelink Age Pension
Deeming is central to how Centrelink calculates Age Pension entitlements, but it’s often misunderstood. Whether your investments earn less (or more) than expected, deeming assumes a standard rate of return – which can affect your pension. Here are three things many...
by Amanda Hardy Lai | Sep 19, 2025 | Centrelink Age Pension
How does Centrelink assess your investment property earnings? Owning an investment property can be a great way to boost your retirement income. And about one in five Australian households owns a property beyond their main home (ABS, 2019–20). So this is something many...
by Kaye Fallick | Sep 11, 2025 | Centrelink Age Pension
The Age Pension payment changes on 20 September could mean so much more than a few extra dollars. Here’s how to use this trigger to maximise your income sooner rather than later. As we advised late last month, 20 September will deliver a fortnightly $29.70 increase to...
by Amanda Hardy Lai | Sep 11, 2025 | Centrelink Age Pension
Many people like to help family members financially. While gifting can be a meaningful way to support loved ones, it can also have unintended consequences for current or future Age Pension entitlements. Centrelink has strict rules on how much you can give away...
by Amanda Hardy Lai | Sep 11, 2025 | Planning for Retirement
Retirement planning can feel like a merry-go round of decisions, leaving you dizzy with the different directions you can pursue. With so many moving parts, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Two recent member dilemmas have highlighted how different people approach...
by Jeremy Duffield | Sep 3, 2025 | Centrelink Age Pension
What would you do if you won a lottery prize of $766,000? That’s a life-changing amount of money for most people. What if you found out you could be entitled to even more – over $1.1 million? The good news is you don’t need a winning ticket to receive that...
by Kaye Fallick | Sep 3, 2025 | Planning for Retirement
One of the great myths about retirement over the last 20 or so years is the significant sums of money you are going to need. For far too long the myth of a million dollars was prevalent. This went largely unchallenged when most Australians were saving for retirement,...
by Amanda Hardy Lai | Sep 3, 2025 | Centrelink Age Pension
Some of the best Age Pension questions we receive at Retirement Essentials come not from people already at eligibility age, but from those in their early-to-mid 60s, planning for what’s ahead. Whether it’s deciding how to spend super before age 67, shifting funds...
by Amanda Hardy Lai | Aug 28, 2025 | Planning for Retirement
As retirement approaches, it’s natural to ask, “Am I going to be okay financially?” For Australians with a modest super balance, this question can feel urgent. Many people worry they won’t have enough to live comfortably, particularly if they’ve worked part-time,...
