Pensioner payments set for September boost

By Grace Ormsby

August 23 2019
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Single pensioners could be up to $804 a year better off, while couples could be more than $1,000 a year better off after September’s deeming rate drop, new modelling has shown.

The research from AMP was in response to the government’s announcement earlier this year that the deeming rate would change for the first time since 2015.

The change to the deeming rates will be backdated to the beginning of the financial year and, as a result, will see single part-pensioners receiving a lump sum of up to $178, while couples could receive up to $234 as soon as the change occurs.

For individuals, it’ll mean a maximum fortnightly pension boost of $30.92 for non-homeowners holding financial investments up to $540,000, according to AMP’s research.

For non-homeowning couples holding the maximum $670,000 in total financial investments, it could mean a fortnightly pension increase of $40.50.

What are deeming rates?

“Deeming rules are used to assess income from financial investments for social security purposes,” according to AMP’s technical strategy manager, John Perri.

“Deeming assumes that financial investments are earning a set rate of income, regardless of the amount they are actually earning,” he explained.

Deeming applies to most financial investments, including listed and unlisted shares, insurance bonds as well as saving and term deposit accounts, among other assets, Mr Perri also noted.

According to the strategy manager, “Deemed income is added to a recipient’s social security assessable income from all other sources, and the total is then used to calculate the rate of social security entitlement under the income test.”

Scheduled pension increase also coming

The deeming rate change date will coincide with a scheduled increase to the age pension, the amount of which the government is yet to announce, AMP highlighted.

Mr Perri commented that it means “pensioners will have two reasons to smile in September”.

“Although the changes for the vast majority of pensioners are relatively small, having some extra money in their budgets to tackle cost-of-living expenses is a positive thing,” he offered.

“The pension is means tested and looks at a single or couple’s level of financial investments, income and assets to determine how much they receive each fortnight.”

Mr Perri considered that “having a good understanding of how many investments and other assets you can hold before your pension is impacted and by how much is a key tool to help plan for retirement”.

About the author

Grace Ormsby

Grace is a journalist on Momentum Media's nestegg. She enjoys being able to provide easy to digest information and practical tips for Australians with regard to their wealth, as well as having a platform on which to engage leading experts and commentators and leverage their insight.

About the author

Grace Ormsby

Grace is a journalist on Momentum Media's nestegg. She enjoys being able to provide easy to digest information and practical tips for Australians with regard to their wealth, as well as having a platform on which to engage leading experts and commentators and leverage their insight.

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