The liquid assets waiting period is between 1 and 13 weeks. It applies if you have funds equal to or more than either: $5,500 if you're single with no dependants. $11,000 if have a partner or you're single with dependants.
You and your partner must have no more than $5,000 in combined readily available funds. This includes any liquid assets you can sell. Liquid assets include cash you have on hand, money you have in the bank and financial investments you have. They also include gifts and other money available to you at short notice.
We check your bank account information is up to date. We do this to check we paid you the right payment and amount in the past.
For your Special Benefit claim you must provide bank statements for the last 3 months for all accounts you have. This includes any overseas accounts. If you have a partner, we'll also require bank statements for all accounts held by them. You'll also need to confirm your identity and provide a tax file number.
The Work Bonus income bank is useful for pensioners who wish to work, particularly those who undertake intermittent or occasional work. Note: from 1 December 2022 to 31 December 2023, a one-off, temporary credit of $4,000 applies to Work Bonus income bank balances.
Generally, there's no checking account maximum amount you can have. There is, however, a limit on how much of your checking account balance is covered by the FDIC (typically $250,000 per depositor, per account ownership type, per financial institution), though some banks have programs with higher limits.
You must tell us about any lump sum you get, even if you think it's exempt from the income test. You also need to tell us about any changes to your assets. If you don't tell us, we may overpay you.
We may notice you've been overpaid after you tell us of a change or complete a review. Once we know you've been overpaid, we check if you have a debt that you need to repay. You may not need to repay money if: we can offset the overpayment by deducting it from your next payment.
Centrelink has rules about what you can own (the assets test) and how much income you can receive (the income test) before you are entitled to a full or part pension. If your assets or income exceed the limits set by Centrelink you will not be entitled to the pension. Both tests apply.
How much is too much? The general rule is to have three to six months' worth of living expenses (rent, utilities, food, car payments, etc.) saved up for emergencies, such as unexpected medical bills or immediate home or car repairs. The guidelines fluctuate depending on each individual's circumstance.
If you plan to deposit a large amount of cash, it may need to be reported to the government. Banks must report cash deposits totaling more than $10,000. Business owners are also responsible for reporting large cash payments of more than $10,000 to the IRS.
Despite the recent uncertainty, experts don't recommend withdrawing cash from your account. Keeping your money in financial institutions rather than in your home is safer, especially when the amount is insured. “It's not a time to pull your money out of the bank,” Silver said.
Centrelink has very wide powers to thoroughly investigate deposits that have been made into your account. For example, it has the power to obtain your information from other government agencies as well as accessing information from banks, building societies and credit union accounts.
The payment rates for Age Pension, Carer Payment and Disability Support Pension are increasing from 20 March 2023. Age Pension, Carer Payment and Disability Support Pension will increase by $37.50 a fortnight for singles and $56.40 a fortnight for couples combined.
You can request a Statement of Debt for any 5 year period going back to 1998. You can make more than one request.
Typically, Centrelink will send you a letter every six months or so with their understanding of your assets and income clearly listed. If your current financial reality doesn't match Centrelink's understanding of it, it's your responsibility to correct your details.
The financial document requirements for Centrelink recipients are a Centrelink statement and 3 months of recent bank statements for all accounts. Clients who are employed need to supply 3 months of bank statements for all accounts and a recent pay slip or letter from their employer stating what their current salary is.
Taking money out of superannuation doesn't affect payments from us. But what you do with the money may. For instance we'll count it in your income and assets tests if you either: use it to buy an income stream.
There are no laws limiting the amount of cash you can keep at home. This makes sense as many businesses, especially retail stores, keep large amounts of money with them merely as floating cash.