Centrelink Queries

[Tigertool]

Does anyone have any general questions about Age Pension or concession card benefits they might want answered?

I've worked in financial planning for 12 years and deal with Centrelink quite a bit, mostly for Age Pension age clients.

I'm not selling anything, I'm actually finishing up my Financial planning role this Friday to pursue an alternate career, just didn't want to waste the Centrelink knowledge i've picked up.

Happy to answer them here or via pm's.

 

[stripes17]

Does anyone have any general questions about Age Pension or concession card benefits they might want answered?

I've worked in financial planning for 12 years and deal with Centrelink quite a bit, mostly for Age Pension age clients.

I'm not selling anything, I'm actually finishing up my Financial planning role this Friday to pursue an alternate career, just didn't want to waste the Centrelink knowledge i've picked up.

Happy to answer them here or via pm's.

Ok I was just wondering How do they work out how much part pension you are entitled to as a couple
Do they combine the total of your two superannuations or is a pension assigned to each partner separately depending on each super balance
What balance do you have in super before you can qualify for a part pension these days
How do you qualify for a low income healthcare card
Just some general questions I was curious about, will probably change by the time I get there though
Thanks

 

[Tigertool]

Ok I was just wondering How do they work out how much part pension you are entitled to as a couple
Do they combine the total of your two superannuations or is a pension assigned to each partner separately depending on each super balance
What balance do you have in super before you can qualify for a part pension these days
How do you qualify for a low income healthcare card
Just some general questions I was curious about, will probably change by the time I get there though
Thanks

Your pension eligibility is based on the combined assets (super, bank accounts, shares, cars, caravans) for yourself and partner not including your home.

You can have as much as $1m in assets as a couple and still receive a part pension

Low income health care card eligibility for a couple is less than $1300 pw of (commonly) employment income and bank interest for the last 8 weeks

 

[tigers1980]

Should speak to the Geelong Football Club they’d be all over it.

 

[TigerForce]

Does anyone have any general questions about Age Pension or concession card benefits they might want answered?

I've worked in financial planning for 12 years and deal with Centrelink quite a bit, mostly for Age Pension age clients.

I'm not selling anything, I'm actually finishing up my Financial planning role this Friday to pursue an alternate career, just didn't want to waste the Centrelink knowledge i've picked up.

Happy to answer them here or via pm's.

Are you an adviser or just work in financial planning? I've been meaning to move into that field from investment admin experience but feel unsure due to irate clients on bad market days.

 

[tigerman]

Does anyone have any general questions about Age Pension or concession card benefits they might want answered?

I've worked in financial planning for 12 years and deal with Centrelink quite a bit, mostly for Age Pension age clients.

I'm not selling anything, I'm actually finishing up my Financial planning role this Friday to pursue an alternate career, just didn't want to waste the Centrelink knowledge i've picked up.

Happy to answer them here or via pm's.

Firstly, thanks Tigertool.

What are the requirements if I transfer my super into wife’s super so that I can get the pension, ie, assets, can I still work etc.
I’m a couple of years away from the pension age, and she plans to be working for another half a dozen years or so.

 

[Tigertool]

Firstly, thanks Tigertool.

What are the requirements if I transfer my super into wife’s super so that I can get the pension, ie, assets, can I still work etc.
I’m a couple of years away from the pension age, and she plans to be working for another half a dozen years or so.

1) transferring super from spouse to spouse is a popular strategy if there is an age difference between each of you.

Superannuation that hasn’t been turned into an income stream is not an assessable asset for a person under age pension age (Age 67).

As an example a man turns 67 and has $700k in super. Assuming he has no other assets he is eligible for a part pension.

He has a wife age 60 with $670k in super.

He could withdraw $330,000 and contribute it to his wife’s super.

Her balance is now $1m

His super balance is now $320k. He is eligible for a full age pension.

2) you can potentially both still work and receive an age pension. This is hard to estimate as I don’t know how much each of you would plan to earn and I don’t know how much assets you have. Your level of assets can determine how much you can earn and vice versa.

I can’t get too specific into your situation as by law I can’t actually give any kind of financial advice

 

[Tigertool]

Are you an adviser or just work in financial planning? I've been meaning to move into that field from investment admin experience but feel unsure due to irate clients on bad market days.

I’m a paraplanner, so an adviser creates and gives advice then I do the compliance document and any implementation. Finished high school, got an admin type job initially in the firm and moved into paraplanning semi quickly.

I came in after the GFC so I only saw a couple bad market times which was 2014 Greece debt issues, 2018 December flash crash and Covid, but the clients we have just want their hand held, so it’s more a case of settling nerves around the market than anyone being upset at what’s going on. Clients only get upset if you make a mistake.

There’s a lot of interesting things you learn in the field and some great financial life skills. There are stresses which are exacerbated by poor attention to detail though so make sure you have an above average eye.

Paraplanning is an occupation that the industry is crying out for, and it’s where anyone who wants to be a financial adviser needs to start even if you went to uni.

 

[TigerForce]

I’m a paraplanner, so an adviser creates and gives advice then I do the compliance document and any implementation. Finished high school, got an admin type job initially in the firm and moved into paraplanning semi quickly.

I came in after the GFC so I only saw a couple bad market times which was 2014 Greece debt issues, 2018 December flash crash and Covid, but the clients we have just want their hand held, so it’s more a case of settling nerves around the market than anyone being upset at what’s going on. Clients only get upset if you make a mistake.

There’s a lot of interesting things you learn in the field and some great financial life skills. There are stresses which are exacerbated by poor attention to detail though so make sure you have an above average eye.

Paraplanning is an occupation that the industry is crying out for, and it’s where anyone who wants to be a financial adviser needs to start even if you went to uni.

Coming from an operations background, mainly in managed funds, we've had a lot of clients who call in to complain why their value has dropped due to bad market days (doesn't have to be a big market crash).....just so many ignorant type who have no idea where they're investing their money. Got sick of it. Been yelled at on the phone and then calmed down with the usual "I know it's not your fault". Paraplanner's the better job although a lot of research is necessary. Don't think you need to have FASEA qualification to be one.....is it just for advisers?

 

[Tigertool]

Coming from an operations background, mainly in managed funds, we've had a lot of clients who call in to complain why their value has dropped due to bad market days (doesn't have to be a big market crash).....just so many ignorant type who have no idea where they're investing their money. Got sick of it. Been yelled at on the phone and then calmed down with the usual "I know it's not your fault". Paraplanner's the better job although a lot of research is necessary. Don't think you need to have FASEA qualification to be one.....is it just for advisers?

haha that’s funny but can see how that would get old quickly.

I can’t think of a single client that’s been irate or yelled about performance. At most it’s a pointed question about how it’s going but I think because we have to ensure clients are invested in a way that makes sure they’re not uncomfortable in a market crash, it doesn’t really come up that often. One of the first questions we ask is what a clients reaction would be to a 50% drop in the market, and based off that sort of questioning we get their defensive and growth allocations to a level they’re comfortable with.

Even during Covid I don’t think we have clients getting too worked up

There are Fasea and uni education requirements for being an adviser. A paraplanner should preferably have an RG146 but I learned on the job so never found a need to do that course.

Working in managed funds and doing an RG146 would definitely get you looked at. Even better if you have any tax knowledge

 

[Redford]

Coming from an operations background, mainly in managed funds, we've had a lot of clients who call in to complain why their value has dropped due to bad market days (doesn't have to be a big market crash).....just so many ignorant type who have no idea where they're investing their money. Got sick of it. Been yelled at on the phone and then calmed down with the usual "I know it's not your fault". Paraplanner's the better job although a lot of research is necessary. Don't think you need to have FASEA qualification to be one.....is it just for advisers?

Fasea doesn’t exist anymore. The standards etc do but it’s managed by ASIC and Treasury now.

Do an ADP with Kaplan and you’re half way there to being a Paraplanner ex for the experience within an AFSL.

 

[TigerForce]

Fasea doesn’t exist anymore. The standards etc do but it’s managed by ASIC and Treasury now.

Do an ADP with Kaplan and you’re half way there to being a Paraplanner ex for the experience within an AFSL.

Another change? I've seen a lot of advisers with just the DFP (and ADFP) and still wondered if they knew what they were talking about.....anyway.......

haha that’s funny but can see how that would get old quickly.

I can’t think of a single client that’s been irate or yelled about performance. At most it’s a pointed question about how it’s going but I think because we have to ensure clients are invested in a way that makes sure they’re not uncomfortable in a market crash, it doesn’t really come up that often. One of the first questions we ask is what a clients reaction would be to a 50% drop in the market, and based off that sort of questioning we get their defensive and growth allocations to a level they’re comfortable with.

Even during Covid I don’t think we have clients getting too worked up

There are Fasea and uni education requirements for being an adviser. A paraplanner should preferably have an RG146 but I learned on the job so never found a need to do that course.

Working in managed funds and doing an RG146 would definitely get you looked at. Even better if you have any tax knowledge

I should have done the RG146 when I was back in super years ago but didn't bother. Does it get a bit boring drawing up SOAs everytime? Getting tired of working in the city I've been looking at those boutique suburban firms but salaries are low and always wonder if they last long. All depends if they maintain their clients.

 

[Tigertool]

Another change? I've seen a lot of advisers with just the DFP (and ADFP) and still wondered if they knew what they were talking about.....anyway.......


I should have done the RG146 when I was back in super years ago but didn't bother. Does it get a bit boring drawing up SOAs everytime? Getting tired of working in the city I've been looking at those boutique suburban firms but salaries are low and always wonder if they last long. All depends if they maintain their clients.

Literally the reason why I’m finishing up on Friday is the SoA’s got boring as hell. When strategies were ones I haven’t done before it was really interesting, but a mix of strategies getting bland and needing to fit the SoA with all its compliance and implementation into a set upfront $ budget gets very old.

I doubt I’d have lasted 2-3 years in it if I didn’t love the office and people I worked with.

Salaries aren’t great, I earned $80k living in gippsland which would be above average for the role and it is a very liveable wage here. Could probably get $100-110k in the city maybe, but I’d think that would be a 3-4 year experience salary.

 

[tigerman]

1) transferring super from spouse to spouse is a popular strategy if there is an age difference between each of you.

Superannuation that hasn’t been turned into an income stream is not an assessable asset for a person under age pension age (Age 67).

As an example a man turns 67 and has $700k in super. Assuming he has no other assets he is eligible for a part pension.

He has a wife age 60 with $670k in super.

He could withdraw $330,000 and contribute it to his wife’s super.

Her balance is now $1m

His super balance is now $320k. He is eligible for a full age pension.

2) you can potentially both still work and receive an age pension. This is hard to estimate as I don’t know how much each of you would plan to earn and I don’t know how much assets you have. Your level of assets can determine how much you can earn and vice versa.

I can’t get too specific into your situation as by law I can’t actually give any kind of financial advice

Thanks Tigertool, we have an owner occupied house and an investment property, we own both. The investment property will be sold before I reach retirement age.
The owner occupied house will be the only asset of note along with our super.

 

[Tigertool]

Fasea doesn’t exist anymore. The standards etc do but it’s managed by ASIC and Treasury now.

Do an ADP with Kaplan and you’re half way there to being a Paraplanner ex for the experience within an AFSL.

Are you a financial planner, Red?

 

[TigerForce]

Literally the reason why I’m finishing up on Friday is the SoA’s got boring as hell. When strategies were ones I haven’t done before it was really interesting, but a mix of strategies getting bland and needing to fit the SoA with all its compliance and implementation into a set upfront $ budget gets very old.

I doubt I’d have lasted 2-3 years in it if I didn’t love the office and people I worked with.

Salaries aren’t great, I earned $80k living in gippsland which would be above average for the role and it is a very liveable wage here. Could probably get $100-110k in the city maybe, but I’d think that would be a 3-4 year experience salary.

Yeah I thought so. I suppose you still have long SOAs to draw up (~30-50 pages...too long for the client to read and/or understand). Thanks for the info. I feel as I'm probably too old now....at 57. The dead silence between companies and recruitment agencies is back again.

 

[Streak]

Should speak to the Geelong Football Club they’d be all over it.

Alternatively, I have a mate who supports the Magpies and he knows everything there is to know about Centrelink.

 

[stripes17]

Your pension eligibility is based on the combined assets (super, bank accounts, shares, cars, caravans) for yourself and partner not including your home.

You can have as much as $1m in assets as a couple and still receive a part pension

Low income health care card eligibility for a couple is less than $1300 pw of (commonly) employment income and bank interest for the last 8 weeks

Thanks Tigertool much appreciated