Recent Pension Changes impact more people
With the rise of the cost of living, recent increase of Pension was welcomed by many pensioners and part-pensioners.
But the impact is not limited to just this group of people. When Pension payments increase, so do the limits under the Assets Test. And in turn what it does is allows more and more people have access to the Pension system and support.
So today, I thought I would review what actually you are entitled to and why it makes sense to do your financial planning around Age Pension, why it is important to find out if in any way you can have access to even a small portion of the government benefit.
We will chat quickly how those pension payment changes could impact some of non-pensioners and what steps you should take if you are in this category to hopefully improve your situation.
Let’s recap those changes Pension payments and please check where you fit in, or where you believe you will fit in once retired.
As you know, Centrelink runs two tests: Income Test and Assets Test, and whichever one provides a lower Pension outcome, this is what you will receive as your entitlement.
This is exactly why, I have been saying that your first task in preparation for the Pension is to work out which test is the primary one that impacts your entitlement most and then find out what can be done to reduce that impact and maximise your Pension benefit. Sounds easy, well… it is not.
Here, I want to concentrate on the Assets Test as this is the one that impacts access to Pension for majority of people.
I created many videos and articles explaining this topic, obviously the limits are different as they were created several months ago, but explanation and strategies continue to apply today, just apply today’s update of payments and test limits: Age Pension Assets Test – The truth revealed; How Centrelink assesses assets for Age Pension and obviously the most popular: 9 ways to hide money from Centrelink Age Pension legally
As you can see in the table, you are eligible for the Full Pension if your total assessable assets are below $280,000 for singles and $419,000 for a couple homeowners, or $505,000 for singles and $643,000 for a couple non-homeowners.
If your assets are greater that that limit, your Pension will start reducing progressively, so you will receive a part Pension until your total assessable assets reach $635,000 for singles and $954,000 for a couple homeowners and $860,000 for singles and $1.18mil for a couple non-homeowners.
If you have assessable assets greater than those limits, you are not eligible for any government pension.
Those limits apply to:
- Age Pension,
- Disability Support Pension,
- Carer Payment,
- DVA Age and Invalidity Service Pension.
So what is the fortnightly benefit you can receive from the pension?
By: Katherine Isbrandt CFP®
Money Strategist & Retirement Planner
Principal of About Retirement
