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James Coyle
James has over 35 years experience in financial services with particular expertise in two of the key components of retirement finance - Superannuation and the Age Pension. He is passionate about providing the guidance and support that can help older Australians enjoy their best possible retirement. He lives in regional Victoria surrounded by dogs and chooks.
I don’t think my husband or I are eligible for a pension but would like to be sure.
Hi Lin
We would like to help you calculate your Age Pension eligibility. Have you tried our online Age Pension calculator at http://www.retirementessentials.com.au, it only takes 2 mins. If you want some help with this just give us a call on 1300 527 727.
If my wife and I get you to get a health care card for us.What would it cost us.
Hi Gregory. My apologies for the delayed reply. Our service will cost you $396
We recently applied for and were rejected for Age Pension due to residency requirements.
Before applying we looked up the immi.gov website where it says that if you were granted a temporary or permanent residency visa before you arrived in Australia, the date you first arrived on that visa is your Lawful Residence Date.
We were granted our temporary residence visa in September 2000 and we arrived in Australia on the 2nd February 2001. So according to immi.gov that is our Lawful Residence Date.
We became permanent residents in April 2004 and citizens in January 2007.
Due to family circumstances we had to return to the UK in July 2011, but finally returned to Australia in November 2020.
Now according to Services Australia our lawful residence date doesn’t mean a thing, the date that counts is your permanent residence date ( April 2004). The fact you have to pay tax and stamp duty etc etc when you are temporary doesn’t seem to matter.There are no benefits to temporary residence.
It is resident for 10 years with permanent residency.
That is unless of course you know better….I’d love to hear your thoughts
I wud like to know more of the age pension processing and elibility!
At present we’re still ( my
Husband &I) on PM visa for more than 5yrs. Our
citizenship application are
on process for almost a yr
now! Are we eligible for the age pension?
Hi Carmelita
To be eligible for the Australian Age Pension you need to have been a resident in Australia for 10 years with 5 of those years being consecutive. If you meet this criteria and are already 65.5 years old, you may be eligible to apply.
According to your online calculator my husband is eligible for some pension but not everything was covered. We have a self managed super fund and we lent our daughter some money. Do those things need to be taken into your account?
Hi Frances, your self managed super fund will count as an asset and the total value needs to be added to the Superannuation question in the free online calculator. As for the loan to your daughter, this will also be considered an asset but as there is not a question specifically for this in the calculator itself, it is best you include this in the Investments question along with your bank balance estimations. I do hope this helps!
Difficulty completing question 24 residency status on Centrelink pension application. My wife moved her in June 1999 from NZ but I actually worked overseas moving permanently to Australia September 2007 being fully employed till April 2020. Both hold NZ passports. As Border force do not grant a visa on entry ( NZ passport holder)your most recent entry into Australia is deemed to be ‘day one’ 2018 in our case on returning from holiday overseas. Which is obviously wrong as my wife has lived here permanently since 1999 (22 years) and me 14 years.
Hi Ian, thank you for your comment.
It is best to check your residency details with the Department of Home Affairs (they have online support as well so you do not have to wait on hold) and ensure you have the correct details for your application. Australia and New Zealand have a strong social security agreement and often “shared” pensions so from the information you have included, it looks likely that residency will not be an issue for your application. You can email us or call us on 1300 527 727 for further information after you attain your residency details.
Many thanks
Not sure if I am eligible as yr questionnaire doesn’t cover all details . So once the proper paperwork is done , will u be able to tell if I am eligible , or will it still go to Centrelink and I need to await their decision? And if all this is done & I am not eligible , do I still have to pay you a fee , which is ?
Hi Irene. Our full application process covers all the additional details and will assess whether you are still eligible before the payment process. Our system checks and will not let you proceed to payment if we calculate you will be ineligible. The fee is $396.
Cheers
Hi I want to retire at the end of the financial year I’m self-employed what happens with last financial years income
I am 67 currently working 5 days a week and would like to find out if I am eligible for a health care card or do I have to wait until I stop working or earn less money.
Hi Marion, great question! You can complete our free eligibility calculator HERE which will let you know if you are eligible for either the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card or potentially even the Age Pension.