From 1 January 2015 the rules that deal with the treatment of income that are being paid from super pensions has changed. So what does that mean for you?
Before the changes
Until the start of this year, super pensions were exempt from the standard rules- called deeming rules – for financial investments such as shares and bank accounts. These deeming rules assume your financial assets are earning a certain amount of income, regardless of the income they actually earn. What this exemption often meant was that only a small amount of income that was drawn (if any) was assessed against your Centrelink Age Pension. And that many people optimised their entitlements by investing in these non-deemed investments.
After the changes
From 1 January 2015, the exemption will no longer apply to new account based income streams. All your financial assets will be assessed by Centrelink under the deeming rules when determining your pension, benefit or allowance payments.
For advice about how the new rules may personally affect your financial position, consider making an appointment with us.