{"id":276,"date":"2019-03-18T21:00:41","date_gmt":"2019-03-18T11:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bantacsfinancialsolutions.com.au\/Nblog\/?p=276"},"modified":"2019-03-18T21:03:31","modified_gmt":"2019-03-18T11:03:31","slug":"pension-increases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bantacsfinancialsolutions.com.au\/Nblog\/pension-increases\/","title":{"rendered":"Pension Increases"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry\">\n\n\n<p>This week brings good news for pensioners. On 20 March 2019, the maximum total pension rate for single pensioners will increase to $926.20 a fortnight or $24,081.20 a year. The maximum rate for pensioner couples combined will increase to $1,396.20 a fortnight or $36,301.20 a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For cash strapped pensioners, some small casual work could be a lifesaver. Pensioners aged over pension age may access the Work Bonus, which operates in addition to the income test free area (currently $172 a fortnight for a single age pensioner). Under the Work Bonus, the first $250 of employment income a fortnight is not counted in the pension income test.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pensioners are also able to build up any unused amount of the $250 fortnightly exemption to a total of $6,500. This amount can be used to exempt future earnings from the pension income test, so a pensioner could earn up to $6,500 a year extra without it affecting their pension. Any unused amount of the Work Bonus is held in a Work Bonus income bank. The income bank amount is not time-limited \u2013 if unused, it carries forward, even across years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Government announced in the 2018-19 Budget that the Work Bonus would be increased and extended. From 1 July 2019, both employed and self-employed social security pensioners over pension age will be able to earn up to $300 per fortnight from work before this income is assessed under the pension income test. Additionally, the Work Bonus maximum accrual amount will increase to $7,800.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A critical point for asset tested pensioners is the cut-off point where no pension becomes payable. Thanks to the pension increases the cut off point for a pensioner couple homeowner has increased to $853,000&nbsp; ($1,060,000 non-\u2013 homeowner). The numbers for a single pensioner of $567,250 and $774,250 respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s important not to overvalue your assets. For example, furniture should be valued at a garage sale prices, not replacement value. This puts a maximum of $5000 for most people&#8217;s furniture. Similarly, motor vehicles should be valued at wholesale value. An overvaluation of $50,000 could cost you $3900 a year in pension lost.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This week brings good news for pensioners. On 20 March 2019, the maximum total pension rate for single pensioners will increase to $926.20 a fortnight or $24,081.20 a year. The maximum rate for pensioner couples combined will increase to $1,396.20 a fortnight or $36,301.20 a year. For cash strapped pensioners, some small casual work could &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-276","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-retirement","7":"anons"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pension Increases - Noel Whittaker&#039;s Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bantacsfinancialsolutions.com.au\/Nblog\/pension-increases\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pension Increases - Noel Whittaker&#039;s Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This week brings good news for pensioners. On 20 March 2019, the maximum total pension rate for single pensioners will increase to $926.20 a fortnight or $24,081.20 a year. The maximum rate for pensioner couples combined will increase to $1,396.20 a fortnight or $36,301.20 a year. 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