Kane Everingham: Well, hello and welcome to Super Insider, Australian Retirement Trust’s podcast about everything to do with superannuation. You might realise there’s a different host this year. I’m filling in for our regular host, Anne Fuchs, my name is Kane Everingham. I’m from the Education Team at Australian Retirement Trust. Now in my day job, I guess you could say I get to travel around the countryside delivering seminars and webinars to thousands of members across this beautiful country, and we often get a lot of questions about the Age Pension. How does it work? Am I even eligible? 

So, because the Age Pension is quite a complex area, we’ve got an expert along today. We’ve got Mr Justin Bott, who is the Community Information Officer at Services Australia. Services Australia, which is the Australian government agency that runs Centrelink. That would be the name that you’re probably more familiar with. So, welcome, Justin. 

Justin Bott: Well, thank you so much for having me. 

Kane: Now before we go into any more information, I do have to let you know that anything you hear from myself, or Justin today is general advice or general information only. Please make sure it’s right for you, and you have access to financial advisers who can give you your own plan to make sure it’s applicable for you. So, please do that.  

If you’re new to our podcast and you want to join our community, you can join us and just subscribe via the platform that is your preferred option. 

Before we get into the questions, I’m going to put you on the hot seat, Justin, and ask you a lot of the questions around the Age Pension. But before we do that, could you introduce what you do for Services Australia, and what does Services Australia do for retired, or older Australians? 

Justin: For sure. So, I’m the Community Information Officer from Services Australia, which means my role is to do really what we’re doing right now, which is to take opportunities to get out into the general public and explain Services Australia’s payments and services. So, we're a big organisation. Services Australia looks after Centrelink, yes, but also Medicare and the Child Support Agency, amongst others. 

Kane: Beautiful. Thank you. Now, I'm going to strip it right back to bare basics. So, I’d like us to start with: what actually is the Age Pension? And why do we even have the Age Pension? 

Justin: So, the Age Pension is the government’s safety net to make sure that older Australians will always have a source of income. Depending on your ability to generate any wealth of your own, you may have significant wealth that you’ve been able to build up, or you might not have been fortunate enough to be in that position. And so, the Age Pension is that underlying safety net to make sure that older Australians will always have some source of income. 

To be able to get it, there are a few rules that you need to meet. First of all, you have to be old enough because it is an Age Pension. So, it’s what we call Age Pension age, and that’s 67 years. You also have to meet the residency requirements, which is 10 years as an Australian resident, with at least 5 of those years being a continuous period of time living in Australia. 

And then you also have to have your income and your assets under the limits—they need to meet the cut-off points—in order for the pension to be payable. So, you’ve got to be old enough, be an Australian resident, and have income and assets under limits in order for the payment to be made. 

Kane: So, let’s go to those limits then. You touched on who’s eligible—there are age requirements, etc. But if we go to apply for the Age Pension, what are the limits? What are the tests that apply? 

Justin: Okay. So, there's actually quite a long list of what these limits are. And I’ll just say upfront that the best thing to do is to go to our website—www.servicesaustralia.gov.au. On the front there, you’ll find some panels. One of them will be ‘Ageing.’ There’s another one on ‘Health and Disability.’ You can click on those, and you’ll find the limits because I’m not going to give them all—they’re just too long a list to go through. It depends if you're a single homeowner or whatnot. But we’ll give you the basics so people can understand. 

So, the first thing we’re looking at here is the Income Test. When it comes to a pension, we’re going to look at your eligibility under your income. What’s your assessable income? Then we look at your assessable assets. You have to be under both of those limits for a pension to be paid. Now, that doesn’t include something we will talk about later, I’m sure, called the Work Bonus, which allows you to earn more if some of that income is coming from wages. 

In the majority of cases, we don’t count the family home. When we’re looking at income and assets for income, for example, we’re talking about wages, deemed interest from financial assets, maybe net rent from rental income, or profits from businesses. So, it's what income is coming through—what am I earning? 

When we’re looking at assets, we’re talking about the things that you own. This might be investment properties, holiday homes, your car, your caravan, household contents, personal effects. Also, financial assets like shares, managed investments—those sorts of things. 

Even if only one of you is applying for the pension and the other one isn’t—because this is often something we’re asked—if I’m applying for a pension and my partner isn’t, does that mean I’m a single person or a couple? You’re a couple. We’re going to look at both of your assets when we’re looking at pension eligibility. 

Kane: Yes. Beautiful. And that’s something that, you know, often comes up. A lot of people are surprised at those upper limits too. So, there’s the lower threshold to essentially get the maximum entitlements, and then there’s that upper threshold. A lot of people are surprised at those income and asset upper thresholds—how much they can actually have or earn before they get zero dollars. 

Justin: Yes. And that's certainly under the income test, one of the mistakes or misunderstandings people often have—they think I can’t earn much and get a pension at the same time. But that’s not how the pension works. The pension is designed to encourage older Australians that if you want to work, the pension may still be payable. 

Again, with the Work Bonus that we mentioned, you can actually earn quite a significant amount of income and still have some pension eligibility. It won’t be the full rate, but there could still be some pension payable. And for a lot of people, the next question is, if I don’t get the full rate, do I get the same pension concession card? And the answer to that is yes. So, even if you’re only getting $40 a fortnight instead of $400 a fortnight, your concessional benefits are exactly the same. People who aren’t applying because they're working too much might be missing out on some pension payments and concessional benefits, they might otherwise be eligible for.  

But again, the other thing about it is—it’s not a static figure. Those cut-off points change quite regularly. And the dates that they change are 20 March, 1 July, and 20 September. So, on 20 March, 1 July and 20 September, the pension itself is indexed based on CPI and some other factors. 

This is why I encourage anybody who isn’t presently getting a pension to just have a look at our website around 20 March, 1 July, 20 September—see what the new figures are, because they may very well become eligible when they weren’t before. 

Kane: That’s a great call. And it’s something I often talk to people about when I'm out in the field. Once a ‘no’ doesn’t always mean always a ‘no’. To your point, with limits changing and with people's personal circumstances changing, they start to spend through some of their retirement money, so that can absolutely change your situation. 

Now, just before we move off the limits, I want to check—if I’m out there, I’m getting some pension in one way or another, if those thresholds or some rules change is there anything I have to do as a pension receiver? 

Justin: Those automatic changes are exactly that—they’re automatic. 

Kane: Beautiful. 

Justin: That’s an automatic process, so there’s nothing anybody needs to do. And for those who’ve been on a pension for a while, it’s something you’ve got used to. 

Kane: Beautiful. Now, I want to move on to another topic. You did touch on it, but I’ll pick on myself as an example. I’m married—4 years older than my wife. Let’s say I get to my Age Pension age, and I apply for the Age Pension. What impact does having a partner have? 

Justin: A couple is a couple. So, people often come to us and say, ‘We have our finances separate,’ or similar, but that’s not how Services Australia works. Traditionally, when we’re looking at a member of a couple, we’ll look at your combined income and assets. So, what your partner’s earning will impact your pension eligibility, and what your partner owns will also impact your pension eligibility. 

The only big difference in that scenario you gave was that if my partner being 4 years younger than me and I’ve just turned 67, my partner isn’t therefore, Age Pension age. The only real asset we won’t look at in that case is your partner’s super, as long as that super is still in accumulation (meaning they haven’t rolled it over into an income stream or pulled it out into a bank account). While it sits in accumulation and your partner is under Age Pension age, it won't count towards their eligibility for anything or yours. 

But apart from that, anything your partner owns or any income they earn will be counted towards your pension eligibility. 

Kane: Wonderful, thank you. That’s a common scenario that comes up. Now, I promise I didn’t tee you up for this one, but you mentioned super being assessable or not assessable. So obviously, our listeners tend to focus on superannuation topics. It’s very important—how does my superannuation impact my Age Pension entitlements? 

Justin: Yes, so for people who are under Age Pension age, as we said, if your super’s just sitting there, it doesn’t count. So regardless of what situation you may be in, like maybe you had to stop work early and claim, say, a JobSeeker payment—as long as super stays in accumulation and you’re under Age Pension age, we don’t look at it. 

When you turn Age Pension age, or when you move that super into an income stream, anywhere but the super fund, it becomes assessable. But nowadays, it just becomes a deemed financial asset—like any other deemed financial asset that you own. Deemed financial assets include things like super when you're over Age Pension age, account-based pensions (the newer account-based pensions), bank accounts, shares, managed investments, loans you might make to another person. And what we do with those is, we don’t pay any attention to the income those products are generating. So, we don’t care about the drawdown level that you might be taking from your account-based pension, because we have a deemed interest rate that we apply to those products. 

We declare or ‘deem’ that those investments are generating income, regardless of the actual income you receive. If you're getting less or getting more, it makes no difference. So, the deeming rates are 0.25% to a limit or a threshold, and they go to 2.25% for any money that you hold over those thresholds. And the thresholds are different for a single person or a member of a couple. Again, go to our website and you can find out what they are. 

But what it means is that the majority of the money that you many have is only, as far as we’re concerned, generating an income of 2.25%. Regardless of whether it’s a term deposit at 4%, or the equivalent of a 7% dividend from your shares, or you’re taking 9% draw down from your account-based pension—all of that is not what we’re looking at. It’s that 0.25% and the 2.25% from that income. So super, account-based pension, bank accounts, they’re all treated exactly the same. Which, from my perspective, is a real freeing thing. Because it removes my pension eligibility from my decision framework. I don’t have to invest in a particular product just for pension purposes because they’re all treated the same from our perspective. And now I can focus on what’s good about an account-based pension, what it can offer me, rather than what it can offer my pension. And I think, from a long-term investment perspective, that’s a really good place to be. 

Kane: That’s such a good point. I’ve not heard it explained like that before. So, as you said, it makes it a lot easier for listeners who might worry about how much their bank account earns, what dividend did I get, I’m drawing $50,000 a year out of my account-based pension. None of that matters because it’s the deeming that applies. So, again from a logical point of view and a headache point of view, that makes the Age Pension a lot easier. 

Justin: Yes, and it’s going to be funny when you’re filling in the application form and you’re noticing that we’re not asking those questions. Why aren’t you asking these questions? And the answer is we actually don’t need to know because we have those deeming rates that take care of it for us. 

Kane: That’s a common concern we get from people. They worry, ‘Oh hang on, I’m going to draw extra out of my account-based pension.’ Centrelink aren't looking at how much you’re drawing out of that pension. They just want to know the balance and then they apply the deeming to that regardless of how much you’re drawing. 

Justin: Yes. 

Kane: I want to hit you with a couple of quickfire ones. So, I’ve got my super, I’m retired, I’m getting the Age Pension—what happens if I make a lump sum withdrawal from my super? Do I have to let you know? How does that impact things? 

Justin: Yes, so that's what we would call a ‘notifiable event,’ and they’re the sorts of things you have to tell us within 14 days. You never have to tell us if the money does down, it’s not a requirement, you always have to tell us if the money goes up. But, obviously, from a ‘Can I get more pension?’ perspective it’s a good idea to let us know if the money goes down, but you certainly need to tell us if things grow. And when you’re looking at total assets growing over $2,000 you have to tell us within 14 days. Taking a lump sum out of your superannuation fund and putting it anywhere, is a change, we need to know where it goes. If you spent it on a credit card or something like that, then those assets have disappeared, and your pension rate may well go up. If you move it into a bank account, they’re both financial assets, your rate of payment shouldn't change, but we need to know anyway. So even if it is not going to cause a change in your rate, Services Australia does need to be told when these things happen. 

Kane: Now, you may be surprised to hear—actually, I don’t think you would be, in the line of work you’re in—but we do come across people who are retired and have full access to their super but think they have too much, and too may assets and income. ‘Oh, I've got too many assets to get the Age Pension; I’m going to go to Vegas, bet all my super on black, blow the lot, trip of a lifetime.’ If they did that, could they still apply for the Age Pension the next day? 

Justin: The next day. Because you’re spending the money on yourself. So, there’s absolutely no rules about people spending the money on themselves. Not that I would recommend this as a long-term financial strategy, the pension is really not that important. But from our perspective, as long as you’re spending the money on yourself—going on holidays, enjoying your retirement, then that’s absolutely perfectly fine and there wouldn’t be any problem with it. Spending the money on other people, that’s when things get a bit more complicated. But spending it on yourself is fine. 

Kane: Right, that’s the trick right there. Now, in your travels and the work you do, and I know you travel all over the countryside talking to people, I imagine you would come across a lot of misconceptions, a lot of misunderstandings. So, just interested, is there say 2 or 3 misconceptions that you come across in your day to day? 

Justin: We’ve actually hinted at 2 already. The first one is that ‘I can’t apply for a pension because I’m earning an income.’ With the Work Bonus that allows you to earn $300 a fortnight in wages before your pension’s affected, and the fact that now everybody starts with a $4,000 balance which means that the first $4,000 worth of wages I earn has no effect on my pension at all. You can earn quite a bit before the pension is affected. So, I can earn a lot and still get a pension. 

The second one is this thought that I don’t need to tell Services Australia because surely, they know. It’s the premise that I can hit ALT TAB on my computer, and I can bring up your Westpac bank accounts and all that sort of stuff. I can’t. Services Australia cannot do that. If you don’t tell us, we won’t know. And if you’ve had an increase in assets, and you don’t tell us about it, then you've got the possibility that you will be paid money you shouldn’t have received, and we’re going to ask for that money back. So not telling Services Australia you have changed your circumstances is a big one. 

The third one is that if I’m not getting a pension therefore there is nothing on offer for me. And that’s not necessarily true as well, because there is a thing called the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. Now, the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, unlike the pension, it’s not assets tested. Its income test is much simpler than the assets test. It’s based on a combination of what we call adjusted taxable income, plus deemed interest from any account-based pensions you might have, higher than the pension income test. From the Federal Government’s perspective, that’s going to give you the same reduced prescriptions and potential access to bulkbilling that you might be able to get with a pension or concession card. But each state gives different concession cards different powers and benefits. So, what I’d recommend is if you are looking at something like a Commonwealth Seniors Health card, check your state’s website on concessional benefits, because it could be more. Depending on where you are, it could be quite a lot of other benefits that a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card could give you. It’s not the same as a pension or concession card, but it’s certainly better than not having it. So, look at, ‘Can I claim that concession card instead of the pension.’ 

Kane: Beautiful. You did touch on this topic, but I think it’s an important one to focus on, is the Age Pension and people’s homes. 

Justin: Yes. 

Kane: This is a very hot topic out there. I might be in a $500,000 house, or I might be in a $2 million beachside property. Can you explain how your home impacts the Age Pension? What’s the relationship there? 

Justin: Sure. So, the first thing is that when we’re looking at the rate of pension, or the income and asset limits, one of the criteria is, ‘Are you a ‘homeowner’ or ‘non-homeowner’?’ A non-homeowner, typically someone renting, is allowed to own more than a homeowner, because we assume they haven’t been putting all their money into the family home. So that’s the first thing. The second thing is, if you are a homeowner, most cases, the family home doesn’t count as an asset when we’re looking at those thresholds—the $1million or so if you’re a member of a couple, and $600,000 for a single person. So, we’re not counting the home in that. The only time that really changes is if you are actively trying to use some of the home to generate an income. Like, you’ve rented out your garage for storage, or you're operating an office out of the spare bedroom. Or you’re setting up a self-contained unit for renting it out. And you’re actually using the family home to generate an income. But if you’re not doing any of that, then the entire property and the surrounding 2 hectares does not count for your eligibility for a payment from us. It doesn’t matter how much it’s worth. 

Kane: Okay, and the big thing there is to realise that I might have the multi-million-dollar home and getting some Age Pension, but I can’t sell the garage to generate some income, to fund the lifestyle, so something to remember there. 

But what if I go the other way? Again, I’ll pick on myself as an example. My wife and I have 2 young boys, we’ve got the bigger house, we’ve got a bit of a yard for the boys to kick around in. When the boys grow up and leave, we’re not going to want something that big to look after. We’ll downsize. Say, if we’re getting the Age Pension, and then we downsize, so we sell our house and buy something cheaper, I imagine there are implications there? 

Justin: Yes, so there’s a couple. There’s the stage in between and then what happens afterwards. So, I’ve sold my home, the rules from Services Australia are that the money you receive from the sale of your home, that you plan on using to purchase or build your new property, does not count as an asset for 2 years while you’re in that stage of looking for somewhere, or building somewhere, and that can be extended out to 3 years if an event occurs that delays the whole process – like a hurricane comes through and you have to knock down and rebuild. 

So, we don’t count it as an asset for up to 2 years. Any money on top of that, so if we use the example I sold for a million and expected to spend $700,000 to buy a new place. That $700,000 will not count as an asset. But the $300,000 that I expected to keep in my bank account, that does count straight away. That will be an asset straight away. 

The other nice thing about the 2-year rule, is that while we don’t count the asset, we also only deem it at the lower interest rate, which, at the moment, is only 0.25%. So, no assessable asset for that $700,000 in the example, and minimal deemed interest coming from it. It’s entirely possible that I have this $1million sitting in the bank with not much of a change to my pension at all. 

Kane: I’m getting some good takeaways from this, myself. This is probably a similar situation. We know that we have an ageing population, if I have elderly parents, they pass away, I get an inheritance, obviously there is an impact there as well. 

Justin: Yes, so an inheritance just means there’s a new asset, realistically. The important part about this is that it’s really only assessable from the date it’s distributed. Which can take quite a while, depending on the reasons—the estate might be contested or whatever it might be. Or it might be a hard asset to be realised before it can be distributed. But once it’s distributed, it’s the same, ‘Let us know within 14 days’ and for example, if there’s $200,000 now in the bank account that I didn’t have beforehand, well, that's a new asset. And depending on the size of the asset, that could potentially have a big impact on my pension or could remove my pension altogether. Because I’ve got new assets that I didn’t have beforehand. It’s also important to say that if that money then has to be spent—for example I already had a mortgage on my place and the mortgage was $300,000 and the $200,000 has gone to clear most of that, then there isn’t actually anything left in the back, it’s all gone into the family home, the family home is an exempt asset, there would be in that case no impact on my pension, because the money didn’t stay there it all went to cover costs. Same as if I had to pay debt, or loans or credit card bills. I’m paying off my debts, then that’s all money you don’t have any more, that won’t count. 

But any new assets, that are going to be staying around, that is going to affect your pension, theoretically it’s going to affect your pension, and therefore you need to take that sort of thing into account. And then, depending on the size, depending on what you’re going to do with it, it may be that you do need professional help in order to manage that.  

But, one of the other options that you have is that you can talk to Services Australia’s Financial Information Service. This is a free and impartial information-only service – so it’s not an advisory service—they're not licensed to give advice. But they can provide the whole implications of the decisions—this is what it’s potentially going to be, these are what your options are, this is what you can do with it. It’s now, with that information, up to you to decide what’s the right or wrong thing to do with that money. As well as your financial professionals, that is absolutely an information service that’s out there for anybody. You don’t have to be a Centrelink customer to be able to take advantage of the Financial Information Service (FIS). 

Kane: I’m glad you mentioned the Financial Information Service. I’ve dealt with them quite a lot over the years, and I’ve found every single one I’ve come across to be so helpful, truly there for the general public, for whoever they’re dealing with, they’re experts in their field and I’ve found that they’re fantastic to deal with. 

Justin: Well, this is where I have to give full disclosure, because I was one for 15 years or so. That’s where all the knowledge is coming from, is my time as a FIS Officer. But if you do want to have a chat with them, if you want to speak with one of our Financial Information Service Officers, then give us a call on 13 23 00 and say the words ‘Financial Information Service’ when they ask for the reason for your call and that will get you through to one of our officers over the phone, and they’ll take it from there for you. 

Kane: Beautiful. If you miss saying that you could be enjoying a phone call for a while, so make sure you do say that. 

I want to move onto another hot topic. We do a lot of retirement seminars and pre-retirement seminars. I’d almost put it in the 50/50 bag, half the people we meet they want to spend every dollar they’ve got and good on them, they’ve earned it. The other half want to leave some money for their kids, they want to help their kids while they’re alive to see them enjoy it, so this brings in the topic of gifting. So, for example, they may want to help their kids buy a house, or get them ahead in their house, can you talk to that? 

Justin: Yes, so we’re often asked, ‘How much am I allowed to give?’ And the general answer is that you’re allowed to give whatever you want. There are no laws in Australia that will stop people giving away their assets. There are no tax implications if you do, and Services Australia does not say you can’t do that. But what Services Australia says is that you may give away a lot of money but we’re not going to recognise that you don’t have it anymore. So, the rules for gifting from Services Australia is that we will recognise that you no longer have $10,000 in a single financial year, but no more than $30,000 over a 5-year period. Any money that you give away that is over those asset limits, and when I say, I should also clarify that if I sell my car to my granddaughter, and the car is worth, $20,000 and I sell it to her for $5,000, I’ve sold it for less than its value, I’ve gifted her $15,000, because I didn’t get proper recompense for the asset. Anything like that, or any money we give that’s over those—$10,000 in a single year, or $30,000 over 5 years— Services Australia is going to pretend that you still own it. We’re going to pretend that it’s money sitting in the bank account and that it’s earning deemed interest same as any other money in the bank account, and we’re going to keep it on your record for 5 years. So, it’s still going to potentially affect your eligibility for the next 5 years. Or, also, importantly, for the 5 years before you apply for a pension. So, we’re going to ask you, ‘Have you done any of this within the last 5 years before you applied for the pension.’ So, if you did 3 years ago, it’s still going to affect you for the next 2 years. Or we’re looking at a 5-year window before we don’t count gifting any longer. After the 5 years have passed, we won’t count the asset, and we will recognise that you don’t have it anymore and it won’t affect your eligibility any longer. 

Kane: That’s a really important call out there, because we meet people who say, ‘You know what I’m going to give Johnny and Mary some money and then I’m going to go down to the Centrelink office and apply for the Age Pension.’ So that gifting, as you said, would be looking at the previous 5 years. 

Justin: The way I always describe it is, again, it’s your money. And you’re allowed to do with your money as you wish. And if there’s a need and you’ve got the assets, then absolutely do what you think is the right thing to do. Just don’t do it with the expectation that there are going to be dramatic changes in the rate of Age Pension that you’re going to be getting. As long as you understand that, then absolutely do what you think is the right thing to do. In those sorts of circumstances, the effect of the pension is a side effect of trying to take care of the kids or the grandkids in whatever way. And that’s, once again, perfectly fine. But gifting to try and get more pension is where things get a little bit messy. Because, yes, if I give away $10,000 in a single financial year my pension rate will go up by $30 a fortnight, if I’m assets tested. That’s the equivalent of $780 a year. It takes somewhere in the vicinity of 15 years for that $780 to replace the $10,000 I just gave away, in the first place. So, yes, I’ll get more pension, but I was better off with the $10,000 in my pocket and just getting less pension at the same time. So, yes, it’s absolutely there, yes it might improve your rate of pension, but that’s one of the reasons why I say gifting to improve your rate of pension doesn’t necessarily work. Gifting because there’s a need, absolutely. It’s your money. Do what you need to do. 

Kane: Now, what if I don’t gift that money? What if I loan the kids the money and the idea is that they pay me back? 

Justin: With that loan, we're not going to have any of those discount amounts. There’s no $10,000 in a single year, or $30,000 over a 5-year period or anything like that. The whole amount is a deemed financial asset, and the whole amount stays on your record until the loan is repaid, whether that’s gradually or at all. And if the load is never repaid, then theoretically it will stay on your record for the rest of your life. Now, it may well be that after a period of time, say 10 years, you recognise that that money’s never coming back, and you forgive the loan. Then it becomes a gift. And then the gifting rules come into account. Then we’re going to take off the $10,000 but keep the balance for the next 5 years from that point onwards. 

So, gifting means the asset will disappear after 5 years, loans means that the asset stays until the loan has been repaid. 

Kane: Now, we’re almost coming to a close, so I want to get down to some real black and white, real practical questions here. So, a very common one and the answer might surprise some of our listeners, but when should I apply for the Age Pension? 

Justin: Absolutely, so you’re allowed to lodge an application for the Age Pension up to 13 weeks before you become eligible. Now that could be 13 weeks before you turn 67. Or if you’re over 67, 13 weeks before a change in your circumstances, like, you’re stopping work. So, if you know that’s going to happen, then you’re allow to apply up to 13 weeks in advance. If you’re stopping work, you just provide evidence from your employer that you’re going to be stopping at this date, and you can lodge the application then. 

Kane: Beautiful, so I do not have to wait until I hit 67 to go and apply. 

Justin: No, we encourage you to go early because then a lot of the processing is done in the background, so that hopefully, as soon as you turn Age Pension age, the pension payments start because we’ve done all the work for you before it occurs. 

Kane: Because if I hit 67 and then I apply? 

Justin: You’ll still be granted from the same date, assuming you apply pretty much on your 67th birthday, but it will get backdated because then we will start the processing and that may take a while. And then we backdate the payments. You still get everything; it’s just delayed when that’s going to happen. 

Kane: Okay, now, keeping it basic, how do I apply? What are the documents I need? 

Justin: Best way to apply is online. That’s MyGov linked to your Centrelink record. If you haven’t done any of that beforehand, then again, the Services Australia webpage, www.servicesaustralia.gov.au, click on that panel that I was talking about for Ageing, tells you how to do that. 

You don’t have to go down that path. You can either download the application if you want to hand fill in in. Or you can go into your local office.  

Yes, you’re going to need documentation. You’re going to need proof of identity, residency, details of financial assets and your wages. There will be a lot of paperwork. The more complex your financial circumstances, the more paperwork we’re going to need. I really encourage everybody to get as much as you can, right from the word go. To lodge it all together as one complete package, it will make the processing that much faster, meaning the pension will come to you that much easier. 

Kane: Let’s ask that then. So, how long—and this might be ‘how long is a piece of string?’ 

Justin: It really can depend. The simpler your financial circumstances then the easier that processing will be. The more complex your financial arrangements, where you might be involving family trusts or company arrangements, that sort of thing, then it will take longer to process. But I really do recommend again, that idea of having as much of that documentation up front as you possible can to make it easier for that whole processing system to work. 

Kane: Now, in closing, where can people go for more help? We’ve covered a lot of ground today, and I know there are some great resources out there for our listeners. Where would you suggest they go? 

Justin: Oh, I’m a big fan of the website—www.servicesaustralia.gov.au. Not only do you have that panel on ageing, you can also search ‘webinars’ and you can find a whole range of Financial Service webinars about all sorts of different financial products, including superannuation, pension eligibility, going into aged care, all of that. 

Kane: Well, that’s about all we have time for today, folks. We've covered a lot of important information. So, as I said at the start of today's episode, if you think any of this applies to you, make sure you seek further advice from a financial adviser. They’ll be able to tell you exactly what applies to your unique situation. 

Personally, I want to thank Justin for coming along today. Thank you, mate. 

Justin: Thank you so much for having me! 

Kane: If you enjoyed today’s episode and want to hear more from us, the easiest way is to subscribe in the platform of your choice—that might be YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. All the links will be in the show notes. And thank you so much for joining us on today’s episode.  

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.