A resource provided free by one of our members, here is what she says…
202403 Age Pension Cheat Sheet.
The new pension rates that take effect on the 20th of March are now published. I have updated my Cheat Sheet to reflect the changes. This, of course, also means that the upper thresholds for the incomes test and assets test have increased.
There is also a small increase to rental assistance although the amount available remains unrealistically low.
It has been a quiet few months at my end with no significant or complex cases. However, I am working on a client who is in receipt of a Scholarship. A portion of the Scholarship is exempt for income test purposes however the balance is assessable. I am trying to get the Work Bonus Concession applied to this balance. The challenge is that to access the Work Bonus the client must be undertaking “Gainful Work”.
The legislation says
) For the purposes of this Division, gainful work is work for financial gain or reward (other than as an employee), where:
(a) the work involves personal exertion on the part of the person concerned; and
(b) the work is carried on within or outside Australia.
The Guide to Social Security law says
For the purposes of the work bonus, gainful work is work for financial gain or reward (other than as an employee), where the work involves personal exertion on the part of the person concerned. The work bonus was extended to include self-employment income from gainful work, as well as employment income, from 1 July 2019.
The ‘advice’ I am getting from Centrelink is that a PHD Scholarship is not gainful work. But I cannot believe that the effort one has to put into a PHD is not considered personal exertion which is how gainful work is defined.
Anyway, it is fun to challenge the system and see where it takes me. I will let you know in my next newsletter the outcome, good or bad.
Lastly, I thought I would share with you a segment from the ABC News Breakfast Show. Currently it is taking 3 months on average for non-complex applications to be processed and on hold times when ringing Centrelink is up to 90 minutes. My Age Pension in the media
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or I can assist in any way.
Warmest regards,
Jacqueline Parker
