A resource provided free by one of our members, here is what she says…
202409 Age Pension Cheat Sheet
The pension rate is set to increase on 20 September, and many of your clients are likely already aware. However, something I’ve seen before is that clients receiving the maximum pension expect to see the new rate applied right away. As you know, this isn’t always the case, as payments can be a mix of pre- and post-20 September days. Just a heads-up in case you receive queries from clients about their payments.
With this rate change, the upper thresholds for both the income and assets tests have also increased. All these changes are reflected in the Cheat Sheet attached.
In my last update, I mentioned that processing times for non-complex claims had improved significantly, with some even finalised ahead of the expected date. However, for more complex claims—especially those involving trusts or companies—there hasn’t been much progress. We’re still looking at over 5 months to get them processed.
What’s changed, though, is the increase in processing errors. I’m finding that one in three approved pensions have mistakes. The most frequent issue is the failure to apply the work bonus credit to ‘attributed’ income from trusts and companies by Complex Assessment Officers (CAOs), who should be well-versed in the rules.
Additionally, I’ve noticed a discrepancy in how work bonus balances are displayed. Clients can see their work bonus credits online in their payment details, but the balance sometimes differs when they report their income online. Since there’s no transparency in how Centrelink calculates these credits at the client level, it’s challenging to contest errors. But when the system shows two different amounts, it’s clear there’s an issue.
Thank you, as always, for your continued support. Please feel free to reach out if there’s anything I can assist with in helping your clients navigate their age pension benefits.
Warmest regards,
Jacqueline Parker
