Centrelink has made changes that could suspend your payments - here’s what you need to know
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Members, it’s always a good idea to keep up to date with Centrelink advances and changes, so that we can make sure to make the most of them and also keep safe from potential pitfalls.
If you are receiving a Centrelink payment, you should take note that the agency has recently imposed some changes on its payments policy that came into effect on 1st January 2023.
Here at the Seniors Discount Club, we believe that it's our duty to make sure our members are informed about all relevant changes to your rights and benefits, so we've done a bit of digging into this new policy and wanted to share what we've found.
Services Australia can suspend your Age Pension payment if you receive employment income, and you fail to meet the required payment standards for more than six fortnights in a row.
Age Pension will be reduced to $0 if your fortnightly income is over $2,243.00 for an individual or $3,431.20 for a couple.
'You don't need to ask us to suspend your payment, we'll do this automatically,' Services Australia said in a statement.
'When this happens, we'll write to you to let you know. We'll tell you the dates of the period we can suspend your payment for, and you won't need to report your employment income while your payment is suspended.'
The payment suspension period can last for up to two years, so be sure to keep an eye on your bank statement and make sure you don't exceed the threshold.
Additionally, pensioners who will be affected by the new policy will not be required to 'reclaim' their payments provided that their earnings have dipped below the cut-off point.
With the start of the New Year also came an increase in the rates for various Centrelink payments. Unfortunately, this did not include the Age Pension.
Due to indexation, over a million young people, carers and students on Centrelink saw their payments rise by roughly $20 a week on January 1st 2023.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said this extra money should help ease the cost of living pressures being experienced around the country.
What are your thoughts on this article? Better yet, do you think that it’s fair for the government to suspend pensioners’ payments if they earn above a certain amount? Let us know in the comments below!
Amendment: An earlier iteration incorrectly implied seniors saw a pension increase on January 1st. This indexation increase was only applied for youth allowance, ABSTUDY, isolated children assistance, mobility allowance, double orphan pension, carer allowance and pharmaceutical allowance. We apologise for any confusion caused.
If you are receiving a Centrelink payment, you should take note that the agency has recently imposed some changes on its payments policy that came into effect on 1st January 2023.
Here at the Seniors Discount Club, we believe that it's our duty to make sure our members are informed about all relevant changes to your rights and benefits, so we've done a bit of digging into this new policy and wanted to share what we've found.
Services Australia can suspend your Age Pension payment if you receive employment income, and you fail to meet the required payment standards for more than six fortnights in a row.
Age Pension will be reduced to $0 if your fortnightly income is over $2,243.00 for an individual or $3,431.20 for a couple.
Services Australia imposed a new policy for pension payments that took effect starting January 1, 2023. Credit: Services Australia.
'You don't need to ask us to suspend your payment, we'll do this automatically,' Services Australia said in a statement.
'When this happens, we'll write to you to let you know. We'll tell you the dates of the period we can suspend your payment for, and you won't need to report your employment income while your payment is suspended.'
The payment suspension period can last for up to two years, so be sure to keep an eye on your bank statement and make sure you don't exceed the threshold.
Additionally, pensioners who will be affected by the new policy will not be required to 'reclaim' their payments provided that their earnings have dipped below the cut-off point.
With the start of the New Year also came an increase in the rates for various Centrelink payments. Unfortunately, this did not include the Age Pension.
Due to indexation, over a million young people, carers and students on Centrelink saw their payments rise by roughly $20 a week on January 1st 2023.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said this extra money should help ease the cost of living pressures being experienced around the country.
What are your thoughts on this article? Better yet, do you think that it’s fair for the government to suspend pensioners’ payments if they earn above a certain amount? Let us know in the comments below!
Amendment: An earlier iteration incorrectly implied seniors saw a pension increase on January 1st. This indexation increase was only applied for youth allowance, ABSTUDY, isolated children assistance, mobility allowance, double orphan pension, carer allowance and pharmaceutical allowance. We apologise for any confusion caused.
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