Determining Severe Financial Hardship - Assets Tested Pension Plus Income

Last amended: 15 July 2022

Assets tested pension plus income exceeds maximum annual rate of pension

A pensioner is not in severe financial hardship if their total annual assets tested service pension or income support supplement plus other income exceeds the maximum annual rate of pension.

Maximum annual rate of pension

Maximum annual rate of pension means the maximum rate of service pension or income support supplement including the pension supplements, Energy Supplement, rent assistance and child payments. Remote area allowance is not included.

Income for financial hardship

Income includes:

• income and adjusted income as defined in subsection 5H(1) VEA,
• Disability Compensation Payment,
• deemed income,
• hardship deemed income,    
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  Section 3.10.7 Notional Annual Rate of Ordinary Income

   

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• allowance payments (other than loss of earnings allowance) under Part VI of the VEA, including an allowance or annuity that is of a similar kind to decoration allowance or Victoria Cross allowance by a foreign country,
• permanent impairment payments under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA),
• a payment of a special rate disability pension (SRDP) as determined under the MRCA,
• payments of SRDP which are reduced by the operation of the superannuation offsetting rule in subsection 204(5) of the MRCA, as calculated under section 5I of the VEA, and
• wholly dependant partner payments received under MRCA.