A super pension is different from the government Age Pension – it’s a tax effective income stream drawn from the savings you have accumulated in your super fund.
However, it’s important to understand that you can often receive a full or partial government Age Pension at the same time as taking a regular income from your super pension. And you may still continue to qualify for government benefits such as a Low Income Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card.
What is the Government Age Pension?
The Age Pension is a government benefit paid to older Australians who have reached their eligible retirement age. It is managed by Centrelink.
How much pension will I get?
The amount you are entitled to is based on both your income and assets and Centrelink will apply a test to determine the amount of your entitlement.
The Income Test for the Age Pension will factor in any other income you receive from super, investments, and/or paid work.
The Assets Test will factor the assets you own excluding your family home and Centrelink will ask you to provide your own estimate of the net market value of your assessable assets. The net market value is the amount of money you could get if that asset was sold now, less any debts on the asset such as registered mortgages, hire purchase debts or loans.
When do you need to update your details with Centrelink?
Each time your circumstances change it’s important to inform Centrelink of these changes within 2 weeks of the change occurring. This can easily be done in your MyGov account.
Have you sold, or bought any assets recently?
Have you upgraded your car, or used some of your savings to go on a holiday?
Keeping your income received and asset values up to date with Centrelink allows you to optimise your payment, or to avoid any inappropriate payments. You might even be eligible for an increase to your pension payments!
Need help?
Instead of trying to tackle this alone, get in touch with our friendly helpline team on 1300 13 44 33 to speak to our qualified financial planners for retirement advice.
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The information contained in this article does not constitute financial product advice. However, to the extent that the information may be considered to be general financial product advice, REI Super advises that REI Super has not considered any individual person’s objectives, financial situation or particular needs. Individuals need to consider whether the advice is appropriate in light of their goals, objectives and current situation. Members should obtain and read the Product Disclosure Statement for REI Super before making any decisions. REI Superannuation Fund Pty Ltd ABN 68 056 044 770 AFSL 240569. RSE L 0000314 REI Super ABN 76 641 658 449 RSE R1000412 MySuper unique identifier 76641658449129 . October 2022