I lost my pension when my husband died. Can I get it back?

My husband and I received a part pension but he passed away and I now have all the assets but no pension. I am 88 and own my own home. I have $680,000 in savings and $180,000 in shares. My income is $25,000 p.a. Is there anything I can do to get a part pension?

A major factor to be considered when drawing up a will is what effect a legacy could have on a beneficiary. As you have learnt, a widow can lose her pension if all the money was left to her instead of being judiciously spread among family members.

When drawing up a will, it’s worth considering the impact it will have on your partner’s pension.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

Just keep in mind that the full pension for a single home owner is $28,000 a year and your portfolio is already giving you almost as much and will almost certainly grow. An aged pension appears out of the question but you would certainly qualify for a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card.

I’m a single woman aged 53 earning $70,000 a year, from which I salary-sacrifice 14 per cent to my super fund, which is worth $290,000. I have $30,000 in a share portfolio outside of super, and my home is worth $850,000. I want to cut down my working hours from age 62. I will downsize then and think I will net about $150,000 from the sale of my house. I will contribute this to my super as a lump sum and I don’t expect an increase in my expenses in my retirement years – I just want to be comfortable. You have written about starting a sinking fund to allow some cash to be held outside super. Do you think this is still a good strategy?

Based on the information provided, your superannuation should be about $650,000 when you are 62 and be worth $800,000 after a downsizer contribution of $150,000. The longer you can delay drawing on it, the bigger it will grow, so you could cut down your hours and handle your expenditure by using a transition to retirement pension.

The purpose of a sinking fund is to create a sum of money to pay off a debt. This is not applicable in your case – but you are on the right track. Just keep on doing what you’re doing.

We are of pensionable age. We receive a part pension of $597 each and my husband receives $1069 per fortnight from DFRDB (Defence Force). We own our home and, apart from two old cars and some furniture worth about $5000, have minimal financial assets. How much cash can we have in the bank?

It’s not a question of how much you have in the bank; all financial assets including cash in the bank and shares in superannuation are given a deemed value for the income test. It is clear you are income tested and, given you are already earning $27,794 via your husband’s pension, there is no chance of you getting a full-age pension.

The first $100,200 of financial assets for a couple is deemed to be producing 0.25 per cent per annum. This means for income-tested pensioners, each $10,000 of financial assets would be deemed to be earning $25 a year.

Mum is 87. Until recently, she was a pensioner living in her own home and regularly declared her assets to Centrelink for her pension assessment. Mum recently moved into an aged care home and, shortly after, her home was sold for a substantial amount. As required, we then updated Mum’s assets to Centrelink, fully paid her RAD, and Mum lost her pension as expected. The daily fees for the aged care home also increased as a result, as was also expected. My questions are: do we need to keep updating Centrelink with Mum’s asset balances even though she is no longer a pensioner and is now well over the asset test for a pension? If so, how long do we need to do this? Is this required for the aged care home fees and, if so, why?

Centrelink reviews your mother’s aged care costs every quarter. The review looks at any changes that have occurred to her assets and income during that time and any change to the care she receives (which is advised by the aged care home). While your mum has lost her pension and is paying a means-tested care fee, the government is still providing funding towards her aged care costs.

How much your mum contributes needs to be calculated based on her assets and income, so if there is a change in her circumstances (for example, her home is sold or a RAD is paid) then this needs to be advised. If the change in her circumstances means her means-tested care fee goes up, the adjustment will be made at the next quarterly review. (She will keep paying the current, lower amount until then.) If, however, the change in circumstances means that her means-tested care fee should be less, then at the next quarterly review she will receive a refund.

Noel Whittaker is the author of Retirement Made Simple and other books on personal finance. Email: [e-mail]

• Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.

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