![]() ![]() Noel Whittaker is the author of Retirement Made Simple and other books on personal finance. Whatever your situation, as the rules change it is a good idea to review your position, and see if a few small changes could up your cashflow. ![]() That’s a 7.8 per cent guaranteed return on your money. So by investing $15,000 in a funeral bond and giving $10,000 to charity or your kids, your pension could be increased by $37.50 a week. The upper level at which eligibility for a pension cuts off moves from $954,000 for a homeowner couple to $986,500, and for singles the numbers go from $634,750 to $656,500.įor assets-tested pensioners, every $10,000 reduction in assets is worth about $15 a week in extra pension. The lower level at which the pension starts to reduce has gone up from $419,000 per couple ($280,000 for singles) to 451,500 and $301,750, respectively. The assets test cut-off points will change too. These benefits are available only to part-pensioners because they are due to a change in the taper rates – not to an increase in the amount of pension payable. The big news is that every couple who are part-pensioners now should get a $50-a-week increase in their pension, while singles will get $35 a week. The result is that many part-pensioners will now move to a full pension, and some people who are ineligible for a pension – because they are over the assets test cut-off point – will be eligible to start claiming a part-pension and all the concessions that go with it. It’s an interesting change the pension rates themselves are not changing, but the thresholds that determine how much pension is paid have been adjusted for inflation. Christmas is coming early for many senior citizens, with significant changes to the pension from July 1. ![]()
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