AS a result of indexation, pension payments including the Age Pension, the Disability Support Pension and the Carer Payment have increased by $9.90 a fortnight to $926.20 for singles, and by $14.80 a fortnight to $1,396.20 for couples.
Asset limits have also increased.
Newstart Allowance and Sickness Allowance for singles and the Widow Allowance go up $5.50 a fortnight to $564.50. For couples on Newstart and Sickness Allowance, the increase was $10 a fortnight to $1,019.20.
The new rates apply from 20 March 2019 and include all supplements.
As a result of this round of indexation, the gap between the pension and the dole has widened further.
The Pension Work Bonus – the amount that can be earned from work without affecting eligibility for the Age Pension – will rise from $250 to $300 a fortnight from 1 July 2019.
Also starting on 1 July 2019 is the expanded Pension Loans Scheme, the Australian Government’s very own reverse mortgage scheme.
Both the Work Bonus and Pension Loans Scheme changes were covered in the February 2019 issue of THE VOICE.
