Struggling to claim your age pension? Centrelink explains why thousands face agonising waits
- Replies 41
Navigating the golden years of retirement should be a time of relaxation and enjoyment, but for many, it's proving to be a period of financial stress and uncertainty.
The culprit? A backlog of age pension claims at Centrelink is leaving thousands of seniors in limbo.
Adele McIntosh-Jackson, working as an independent sub-contractor, applied for a partial age pension in August 2023, hoping to reduce her work hours.
However, after a fall in December that left her with a broken ankle and unable to work, her situation became dire.
'Over the last seven weeks, I've had no income whatsoever,' she shared.
'I still have a mortgage and strata fees, and I still have electricity bills and all sorts of things.’
‘So, it's not a great position to be in at my age.'
McIntosh-Jackson was told the reason for the Centrelink delay was her work as an independent sub-contractor rather than an employee.
However, her story is not unique.
Many Australians have been waiting months for their age pension claims to be processed, with no clear indication of when they might receive their much-needed funds.
Joe, a 72-year-old pensioner, shared his experience: 'I first applied in July. When you do actually get to speak to someone, they're generally very helpful.’
‘But it's really, really hard to get through on the telephone. I'm just looking for a part pension. I'm 72, and I'm struggling a little bit.'
Other SDC members also complained about these delays.
In a previous story on frustrating call times and pension approvals at Centrelink late last year, member @Casper said, ‘I have been waiting over six months for approval of a disability support pension. Phoned a couple of times at one hour fifty-two minutes wait time and, on other occasions, cut off after waiting over an hour.
‘You never get the same answer twice to a question. And one person tells you one thing, and the next person [gives] a different answer. Talk about bashing your head against the wall. The whole system is a pathetic joke.’
‘It took five months for them to approve my aged concession card. Yesterday, I was on hold for 1 hour and 48 minutes due to my rent allowance being cancelled after one payment,’ member @jackibourn said.
‘Due to non-uploading of a document only to behold, they did have it on file. This is not good enough.’
So, what's causing these delays?
Centrelink has also been grappling with a significant staff shortage.
This has resulted in a backlog of 34,000 age pension claims, with an average processing time of 72 days.
Honk Jongen, general manager of Services Australia, acknowledged the issue, stating, 'I'm the first to concede that we are not meeting demands as we would like to and as our customers would like us to.'
‘Up until now, we've not had sufficient staff to deal with the workload that we face.’
‘Now the government has recognised that, and late last year, they allocated us sufficient funding for an additional 3,000 staff.’
‘As a matter of priority, we've been recruiting those staff, and right now, they are all on board but going through intensive training,’ he added.
However, staff shortage isn't the only factor contributing to the delays. Jongen pointed out that incomplete applications and complex financial affairs can also slow down the processing time.
'Many people have got complex financial affairs, trusts, in shares and other investments, all of which need to be appropriately assessed,' he said.
'In some instances, we need to go to third parties to confirm the information that is required, all of which can contribute to delays.'
For those in urgent need, Jongen advised visiting a Centrelink office in person if possible.
‘In Adele's case, this is a clear situation,’ he said.
‘If she's experiencing financial hardship, then what she should do is, if she can, visit her local office because if she explains her situation to our staff, we will do what we can to help her out.’
Centrelink is also working to expedite the training of its new recruits to help ease the backlog.
'We're moving to try and get them on board as quickly as we can,' Jongen said.
Have you experienced delays with your age pension claim? Let us know in the comments below.
The culprit? A backlog of age pension claims at Centrelink is leaving thousands of seniors in limbo.
Adele McIntosh-Jackson, working as an independent sub-contractor, applied for a partial age pension in August 2023, hoping to reduce her work hours.
However, after a fall in December that left her with a broken ankle and unable to work, her situation became dire.
Adele McIntosh-Jackson is one of the many waiting for their age pension claims from Centrelink. Credit: Shutterstock
'Over the last seven weeks, I've had no income whatsoever,' she shared.
'I still have a mortgage and strata fees, and I still have electricity bills and all sorts of things.’
‘So, it's not a great position to be in at my age.'
McIntosh-Jackson was told the reason for the Centrelink delay was her work as an independent sub-contractor rather than an employee.
However, her story is not unique.
Many Australians have been waiting months for their age pension claims to be processed, with no clear indication of when they might receive their much-needed funds.
Joe, a 72-year-old pensioner, shared his experience: 'I first applied in July. When you do actually get to speak to someone, they're generally very helpful.’
‘But it's really, really hard to get through on the telephone. I'm just looking for a part pension. I'm 72, and I'm struggling a little bit.'
Other SDC members also complained about these delays.
In a previous story on frustrating call times and pension approvals at Centrelink late last year, member @Casper said, ‘I have been waiting over six months for approval of a disability support pension. Phoned a couple of times at one hour fifty-two minutes wait time and, on other occasions, cut off after waiting over an hour.
‘You never get the same answer twice to a question. And one person tells you one thing, and the next person [gives] a different answer. Talk about bashing your head against the wall. The whole system is a pathetic joke.’
‘It took five months for them to approve my aged concession card. Yesterday, I was on hold for 1 hour and 48 minutes due to my rent allowance being cancelled after one payment,’ member @jackibourn said.
‘Due to non-uploading of a document only to behold, they did have it on file. This is not good enough.’
So, what's causing these delays?
Centrelink has also been grappling with a significant staff shortage.
This has resulted in a backlog of 34,000 age pension claims, with an average processing time of 72 days.
Honk Jongen, general manager of Services Australia, acknowledged the issue, stating, 'I'm the first to concede that we are not meeting demands as we would like to and as our customers would like us to.'
‘Up until now, we've not had sufficient staff to deal with the workload that we face.’
‘Now the government has recognised that, and late last year, they allocated us sufficient funding for an additional 3,000 staff.’
‘As a matter of priority, we've been recruiting those staff, and right now, they are all on board but going through intensive training,’ he added.
However, staff shortage isn't the only factor contributing to the delays. Jongen pointed out that incomplete applications and complex financial affairs can also slow down the processing time.
'Many people have got complex financial affairs, trusts, in shares and other investments, all of which need to be appropriately assessed,' he said.
'In some instances, we need to go to third parties to confirm the information that is required, all of which can contribute to delays.'
For those in urgent need, Jongen advised visiting a Centrelink office in person if possible.
‘In Adele's case, this is a clear situation,’ he said.
‘If she's experiencing financial hardship, then what she should do is, if she can, visit her local office because if she explains her situation to our staff, we will do what we can to help her out.’
Centrelink is also working to expedite the training of its new recruits to help ease the backlog.
'We're moving to try and get them on board as quickly as we can,' Jongen said.
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