WHEN CHECKING ELIGIBILITY FOR AUSTRALIAN AGE PENSION IS

Hi, I’m John, solicitor, and reviewing your post, and may need to ask a few questions a long the way to assist you.

As you are over 65 you are entitled to the pension.

There are limits to how much your assets can be worth before it affects your pension amount.

The govt look at the type and value of any assets you own in and outside of Australia.

The value of your assets is what you’d get if you sold them at market value. We’ll deduct any debt secured against the asset from its market value.

As example: John has an investment property with a market value of $300,000 and a mortgage on it of $100,000. We would assess the value of John’s property as $200,000.

Govt includes the value of real estate that’s not your principal home.

Real estate assets can include property you own: in full or jointl; privately or within a business structure granny flats; Retirement village contributions; Life interests; financial investments; superannuation investments; income streams including your partners’; any business assets; funeral investments; assets given away; other assets; bottom line the government will look at every aspect that is financial.

There are some assets the govt don't assess. They call these exempt assets.

Exempt assets include:

• your principal home and surrounding land up to 2 hectares on the same title
• some properties larger than 2 hectares on the same title - read more about rural customers and primary producers
• your principal home, if you vacate it for up to 12 months
• granny flat rights where you pay more than the extra allowable amount
• principal home sale proceeds you’ll use to buy another home within 12 months - we deem the exempted amount and include it in the income test
• any property or money left to you in an estate, which you can’t get for up to 12 months
• accommodation bonds paid on entry to a residential aged care facility
• some income streams depending on when you purchased them
• Australian superannuation investments from which a pension is not being paid - this exemption is valid until you reach age pension age
• a cemetery plot and a prepaid funeral, or up to 2 funeral bonds, that cost no more than the allowable limit
• aids for people with disability
• money from the National Disability Insurance Scheme for people with disability
• a Special Disability Trust, if it meets certain requirements

If you enter an aged care facility, we don't assess your former principal home if you're:

• paying or are liable for an accommodation charge,
• renting out your former home, and
• entered an aged care facility before 1 January 2017

We will not assess any interest you have in the following items as long as you or your partner didn’t create them:

• life interest
• reversionary interest
• remainder interest, or
• contingent interest

We also may not assess most compensation or insurance payments for loss or damage to buildings or personal items.

Most pensions and allowances have asset limits. We use these limits to work out if your assets will affect your payment rate.

Govt calculate the payment rate under both the income and assets tests. The test that results in the lowest rate, or nil rate, will apply.

The following link will provide you with the payment rates:

https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/enablers/payment-rates-age-pension

The following link will take you to the calculator you need to work out what is payable;

https://www.centrelink.gov.au/custsite_pfe/pymtfinderest/compensationEstimatorPage.jsf?wec-appid=pymtfinderest&wec-locale=en_US#stay

Based on the information in your post you will be entitled to the aged pension. The exact amount of the pension will be subject to your total financial position.

https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/age-pension/how-much-you-can-get/assets-test/assets

Would you like to consider this option of using the governments calculator.

Does this help with your question today?