Gemma Ciardulli | SEIVA Wealth | Financial Advisor
For many people approaching retirement, Centrelink can feel like its own full-time job. The forms, the asset and income tests, the supporting documents, it all adds up quickly, often at a time when people are already juggling a lot. This is the story of one client's experience working through that process with our team.
"I'd started the Centrelink application twice on my own and given up both times. Having someone coordinate it with me made all the difference." - Margaret*, SEIVA Wealth client.
Margaret, 66, had been a SEIVA Wealth client for several years, working with her adviser on her superannuation and broader retirement plan. She'd always assumed the Age Pension wasn't really relevant to her situation and had never looked into it. It wasn't until a routine review meeting that her adviser raised it, pointing out that her current asset position meant she was likely eligible for at least a part pension. Once she decided to pursue it, the application itself was where she got stuck. Between working out which assets counted under the assets test, gathering bank statements and superannuation records, and making sense of the deeming rules on her investments, she'd started the online application twice and abandoned it both times.
Rather than starting from scratch, we used the details already held on Margaret's file — her assets, income and superannuation — to prefill as much of the Centrelink paperwork as possible.
Before anything was lodged, we went through the prefilled forms with Margaret to confirm every detail was accurate and current, and to fill any gaps we didn't already have on file.
Once Margaret was happy everything was correct, we lodged the application for her, so she didn't have to navigate the online portal herself.
We only needed to reach out to Margaret when Centrelink came back requesting further information or an update to something on file. Outside of that, we handled the process for her from start to finish.
Margaret's application was approved without further delay, and she now receives a part Age Pension that fits neatly alongside her superannuation income as part of her broader retirement plan. More than the outcome itself, she's told us the biggest relief was simply not having to face the process alone. What had felt overwhelming on her own became a handful of straightforward steps with someone in her corner.
