Q. I am eligible for the pension after the end of April 2019. I currently work full time but would like to reduce my hours as I am travelling an hour each way every day. My employees have asked me to stay on in a reduced capacity but I was wondering what you can earn before it affects the Age Pension and what the pension is reduced by if I work more than the maximum number of hours. I have tried to look this up on line without success, so I would really appreciate an uncomplicated answer to the above.
A. If you go to my website www.noelwhittaker.com.au, you will find a pension calculator that will let you enter your own income details (or the details of what you expect to earn if you worked in a reduced capacity), and let the calculator tell you how much pension you would qualify for. The outcome will depend on whether you are a single or a couple.
Read more: Good news! The amount you can earn without impacting your pension is going up
Right now, the earnings cut-off figures are $79,736.80 per annum for a couple and $52,119.60 for a single. If you have financial investments such as shares or bank accounts, they will be given a deemed income that will also impact your pension payment. There is a deeming calculator on my website that you can use to tell you what deemed income Centrelink will attribute to your assets.
IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your financial or legal situation, objectives or needs. That means it’s not financial product or legal advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a financial or legal decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get independent, licensed financial services or legal advice.