Do not overlook the Aged Pension
If you are 65 (male) or 63 (female) and have at least 5 years continuous Australian residency and at least 10 years aggregate Australian residencyyou may qualify for an aged pension even if your assets (excluding your home) are are up to $800,000. Given that the average SMSF super balance is approximately $600,000 in accordance with recently released ATO statistics this means the average Australian with a home (it does not matter what the home is valued at as it does not count towards the assets test) and $600,000 in super will qualify for some aged pension benefits.
Free Money
The maximum Government Aged Pension Benefit that you can receive is detailed below:
| $ |
| Single | $14,814.80 pa |
| Couple (each) | $12,373.40 pa (each) ie $24,746.80 (total) |
Whilst you may not qualify for the full pension, you may qualify for some part pension based on your assets and income which is extremely usefiul in funding living costs in retirement. In addition to receiving income from the age pension, receiving at least $1 of age pension entitles a person to the Pensioner Concession Card, which may provide for:
-Reduced cost of medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
-Reductions in property and water rates.
-Reductions in energy bills.
-Reduced fares on public transport.
These benefits in themselves may result in thousands of dollars of savings over time.
Minimal Planning Opportunities
The recent changes in the Budget increased the level at which you qualify for an Aged Pension from around $500,000 in assets (excluding your home) to over $800,000. This in itself has dramatically increased the number of Australians that will now qualify for the Aged Pension. However at the same time it removed some planning opportunities meaning that there are no real Aged Pension planning opportunities available to maximise your aged pension benefit. Essentially your ability to claim the Aged Pensiuon is dependant on your Assets and to a lesser extent your income.
Centrelink
For further information about receiving an Aged Pension, including an application form contact your Centrelink Office.
*The above rates are effective from 20 March 2009.
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