Age Pension Assessable Assets
Your Age Pension entitlement is reduced if your Age Pension Assessable Assets exceed the Asset Test Allowance.
At Centrelink, Age Pension Assessable Assets include all that you clearly own together with items that you own indirectly.
Age Pension Assessable Assets includes your personal items.
Age Pension Assessable Assets includes your personal items and household contents. Your personal and household items are counted at ‘garage sale’ values for Age Pension Assessable Assets purposes. Thus you are reporting to Centrelink a much lower value for your personal possessions than their ‘replacement value’ for home contents insurance purposes.
A single Pensioner living alone has a minimum of $3,000 of Age Pension Assessable Assets. A couple living together have at least $5,000 of Age Pension Assessable Assets.
A Pensioner who has entered residential aged care might have only $1,000 of Age Pension Assessable Assets once her former home has been cleared.
Age Pension Assessable Assets includes your motor vehicles and recreational items
You must include all of your motor vehicles in your Age Pension Assessable Assets. You must also include your motor bikes, boats, trailers and caravans in your Age Pension Assessable Assets. These vehicles and recreational items could be included at their resale values.
The equipment you use in your hobbies should be included in your Age Pension Assessable Assets. Many minor items of craft, woodworking and gardening equipment could be part of your household contents.
Age Pension Assessable Assets includes your financial assets
You must include all of your bank accounts and financial investments in your Age Pension Assessable Assets.
Financial investments held via separately managed accounts or managed funds or investment trusts still count as part of your Age Pension Assessable Assets.
You may deduct the outstanding amount of loans secured against your investment portfolio when calculating your Age Pension Assessable Assets. But you cannot deduct loans secured against your home.
Loans to family members are part of your financial investments. Also, money on deposit with charitable or church ‘development funds’ count as part of your Age Pension Assessable Assets.
Age Pension Assessable Assets includes your real estate investments
Your principal residence is excluded from your Age Pension Assessable Assets. But only the first two hectares of the land with the house on it can be exempt. If your home plot is greater than two hectares then the excess land counts for your Age Pension Assessable Assets.
Any land that you own under a different land Title from your principal residence counts for your Age Pension Assessable Assets. Thus your holiday house, hobby farm and your investment properties are included in your Age Pension Assessable Assets.
If your home and surrounding garden covers two blocks with individual Titles then the block without the house counts for your Age Pension Assessable Assets.
Land that you own to accommodate your business could be counted for your Age Pension Assessable Assets if your name is on the Title.
Remember that your Age Pension Assessable Assets includes only your share of any land that you own jointly with business partners. Land owned jointly with your domestic partner is included in your joint ‘assessable assets’ at Centrelink.
Also any property that you own outside of Australia must be included in your Age Pension Assessable Assets.
Age Pension Assessable Assets includes your business assets
If you are still active in business as a sole trader or involved in a family business then your business assets count as part of your Age Pension Assessable Assets.
If you operate a business then your share of the business assets count for your Age Pension Assessable Assets. Your business could be operated through a private company or trust structure.
Valuation of business assets for inclusion in your Age Pension Assessable Assets could be difficult whilst you and/or your domestic partner are working as a sole trader. Centrelink have special forms covering Private Companies and Trusts. But you still need to obtain valuations of the business assets such as trading stock and equipment.
Superannuation accounts are included in Age Pension Assessable Assets
Age Pension Assessable Assets include superannuation “income stream” and allocated pension account balances.
Once you attain your Age Pension Age, all of your superannuation account balances are count for your Age Pension Assessable Assets. Thus, any superannuation accounts that are still in accumulation phase will be counted for your Age Pension Assessable Assets.
Any superannuation accounts that your domestic partner has in accumulation phase are exempt until your domestic partner attains their Age Pension Age. Your partner’s allocated pension account balances count as assessable assets even if they are yet to attain their Age Pension Age.
Special rules apply to lifetime and fixed term superannuation annuities. These annuities were purchased with superannuation benefits before October 2007.
Age Pension Assessable Assets not held in your name
Assets held in a family trust or another structure for your benefit, could be counted for your Age Pension Assessable Assets.
Long established family trusts and testamentary trusts providing ongoing benefits to a senior could be counted for the purposes of your calculating Age Pension Assessable Assets.
Substantial gifts are not deleted from your Age Pension Assessable Assets for five years.
For example, if you transferred the Title to the family holiday house into a family trust then the Centrelink Gifting rules would apply. The value of the property transferred, possibly less $10,000, would be counted in your Age Pension Assessable Assets for five years from the date of transfer.
Inheritances that are ready to be paid out to the beneficiaries are counted in your Age Pension Assessable Assets. Also any bequests that have not been distributed within one year could be included in the beneficiaries Age Pension Assessable Assets.
Age Pension Assessable Assets excludes Aged Care Refundable Accommodation Deposits and Bonds
You can exclude from your Age Pension Assessable Assets amount any lump sum payments for accommodation for yourself or your partner, in a Commonwealth regulated residential aged care facility. Thus the amount of any Aged Care Refundable Accommodation Deposits for entry after June 2014 and the reduced value of any Accommodation Bonds for permanent entry before July 2014 are excluded from your Age Pension Assessable Assets amount.
Help to understand how your situation fits in the Age Pension system.
Christine at Financial Care Services writes this Age Pension Guide. She can help you to understand your Age Pension situation.
Ask Christine to help you navigate your Age Pension challenge.
Contact Christine at Christine@financialcareservices.com.au or call 03 9808 0338 to book a consultation.
Christine at Financial Care Services is experienced with Pension Applications and the many Centrelink financial means tests.
Financial Care Services helps seniors with Centrelink Pension issues. Christine at Financial Care Services could help you check if you are eligible for an Age Pension.
An estimate of your potential Age Pension amount before you apply could spare you a rejection letter from Centrelink.
Financial Care Services offers ‘personal financial factual information’ consultations to help you check your asset and income position against the Centrelink Pension means tests. Christine is also able to assist with filling in your Centrelink forms ready for you to sign. She will accompany you to a Centrelink office to lodge your Pension claim form and show your proof of identity documents.
Financial Care Services charges hourly rate fees for ‘personal financial factual information’ consultations, assistance with personal data collation, completing Centrelink forms and attendance at a Centrelink office with you.
Email Christine@financialcareservices.com.au now for the Financial Care Services Client Services Guide and Financial Care Services Age Pension Personal Data Checklist.
Disclaimer This Age Pension Guide is based on our understanding of the current Social Security provisions. Your claim for a Social Security Pension will be based on your personal situation as documented to Centrelink and the Social Security legislation and Regulations in force at that date.
Updated 20 June 2018
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