AGE PENSION

Course overview

This course explains the Australian Age Pension for professional advisers, accountants and finance staff who support older clients. It covers eligibility, the income and assets tests, common reporting risks, and practical strategies for integrating the pension with superannuation, tax, and housing decisions.

Course objectives:
– Explain the role of the Age Pension within the retirement income system and why means testing changes client decisions.
– Apply the income and assets tests to common client scenarios, including deeming and employment income concessions.
– Identify assessment risks for trusts, companies, loans and gifts and implement defensible documentation practices.
– Analyse housing and special circumstance issues, including Rent Assistance, illness separation and overseas travel.
– Develop ethical, lawful strategy options that integrate the Age Pension with tax, superannuation and retirement cashflow.

Learning outcomes:
– Describe the core eligibility requirements and the practical steps for making and maintaining a claim.
– Estimate pension changes from income and asset movements using the standard taper rules.
– Classify common assets and income streams for assessment, including deemed income and complex structures.
– Evaluate how housing decisions and special circumstances affect outcomes and client compliance risk.
– Prepare an advice approach that balances pension outcomes with client wellbeing, tax outcomes and long-term sustainability.