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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.
Due to the pandemic, I’ve had to go on the couple aged pension, but my wife is to young to qualify for her part of the pension and I am the sole income earner as she is unemployable. I am now working 2 days on a split shift which brings in $478 per f/n this goes up to $530 if I have to do driver training. I’m a school bus driver. Do I have to report to Centrelink?
Hi Pierre, thank you for reaching out for assistance. In general you must report any/all income earnt to Centrelink if you are receiving any Age Pension, even if you are earning below the allowed amounts meaning they will not reduce your pension. This is so Centrelink know how much you are are currently earning should there be any increase or lump sum payments you receive that need to be backdated but also in case the allowable amount was to reduce, Centrelink need to know who is impacted so they can contact you. To discuss your situation in detail it would be best to do so in a more confidential forum so we will send you an email separate to this comment with details on how we can potentially assist further.
I am 75 and work physically part time as an arborist.
I have been receiving the full single aged pension since March 2020 and have made use of the Work Bonus Scheme since then.
I find it worrying that you say the annual bonus of $7800 is a lifetime bonus.
Does this mean that once this threshold is reached any subsequent income from working as an arborist will reduce my pension which is $967.50 per fortnight.
Hi Bob, thank you for reaching out for clarity and we apologise for the wording used. We will be editing the article to avoid further misunderstandings. What we were referring to by “lifetime maximum” is that you cannot have anymore than $7,800 accrued at a time. So if someone did not work for 5 years, they would not be able to accrue 5 years worth of work bonus, it will stop at $7,800. In that same scenario, if you returned to work after 5 years and began using some or all of that $7,800 then it will begin to accrue again back up to that maximum amount.
Therefore in a scenario such as yours where you have been using some or all of your work bonus since March 2020, you are not in danger of hitting a limit and having additional income potentially impact your pension. For you the situation will be that you only have a small amount of work bonus (if any) accrued for you to use at a later date because you’ve been drawing on it as you go.
Thank you Steven for your reply re Centrelink Work Bonus.
I can be a bit pedantic.
Regards Bob Russell.
Thanks for the info but can you please confirm or clarify the comment that the $7,800 is a lifetime maximum?
My understanding is that the $300 Work Bonus is applied for any periods you work (forever) and the $7,800 figure is only the maximum that can be carried forward as an unused “income bank” (even across years) during periods you do not work.
This would imply (or is it wishful thinking?) that if, say, someone stopped working for a while and had $1,000 unused in the income bank, then started working again two years later, they would be entitled to the $300 per fortnight, plus the $1,000 brought forward.
If it really is a lifetime maximum could you please provide a link to a source, as I’ve not been able to find the info on the Centrelink site.
Many thanks.
Hi Chris, thank you for reaching out for clarity and we apologise for the wording used. We will be editing the article to avoid further misunderstandings. Your understanding of how the work bonus works is correct. What we were referring to by “lifetime maximum” is that you cannot have anymore than $7,800 accrued in your “income bank” at any time.
Started back to work, old employer threw me a lifeline,
I have tried to access an age pension for two years.
I am 75, and worked most of my life north of the 26th parallel.
The work is offshore machinist, each of the three weeks swings, will after tax net me, 15K. there are two.
I have just had my paperwork accepted for consideration by centrelink.
So after all the effort of providing more and more paperwork, I will probably recieve a very small amount.
I think in this day and age the celing limit could be raised, so people who have worked hard all their life are Rewarded Not Punished. If the ceiling were lifted to say $15000 so people could afford to pay the ever rising costs of Utililities,services,food etc. And Why should we be kept oppressed,when the people We Elect and Pay them so handsomely are Not Subjected to the Same Rules ! ? Imagine if polotitions were Subjected to Productive pay rises, they would still have the Same Wage as 30 years Ago ! Time for Change !!!
DITTO! DITTO! HERE! HERE! From me.
I agree completely in some countries in Europe there is no limit you have earned your pension for life after working most of your adult life you can earn as much as you are able without it effecting your pension and these countries have triple the population of Australia take a leaf out of their books or every single person gets the equal treatment whether they are the rule makers or a trades person
Hi
I am 69 and on the age pension, my wife is 64 and retired , she looks after our Grand daughter for 20 hours a week and relies on super to get by. I am set to inherit $80000
Will this effect my pension and if so what is my best option.
Regards
Harry
Hi Harry, great question! It would be best to discuss your situation and the potential impacts to your pension from the inheritance in a more confidential forum. We will send you an email separate to this comment with details on how we can potentially assist.
What happens when the $7800 runs out. Are you penalised.
Hi Elizabeth, thank you for reaching out for clarity and we apologise for the wording used. We have edited the article to avoid further misunderstandings. What we were referring to by “lifetime maximum” is that you cannot have anymore than $7,800 accrued at a time. So if someone did not work for 5 years, they would not be able to accrue 5 years worth of work bonus, it will stop at $7,800. In that same scenario, if you returned to work after 5 years and began using some or all of that $7,800 then it will begin to accrue again back up to that maximum amount.
Therefore should you earn more employment income than you have available in your accrued work bonus it is possible that your pension may be impacted. However the work bonus does replenish itself back up to the $7,800 maximum during periods where you are not earning any employment income.
I’m going to work on Election day and will get $450
How is this money affecting my age pension
Hi Lucy, to find out specifically if that small payment will impact your pension you would need to contact Centrelink directly on 132 300 as they can tell you how much work bonus you have accrued, if any. For example you may have $3,000 already accrued, you still need to declare the income (so Centrelink can deduct it from your work bonus balance) but there would not be any impact on your pension payment.
I am aged under 65 and am a self funded retiree (public sector super pension, private super pension, and small investment income). I would like to earn some extra money by undertaking share trading in order to boost my superannuation which is well short of the ceiling. Does this count as self-employment? I am keen to top up an accumulation super account not yet rolled into pension phase while I am able.
Hi Bernadette, thanks for reaching out for assistance! The share trading as you have worded it would not be considered self employment as you are simply managing your own assets, the same as you may move money from one bank account to another to earn a better return. Self employment would involve you being paid by others to manage their shares and under an ABN. Regarding your situation and other plans it would be great to discuss this with you in a more confidential forum so we can potentially help you further. We’ll send you an email separate to this comment with further details.