The age pension is an entitlement many older Australians look forward to claiming when they retire.

However, Centrelink has not made the process of claiming the age pension easy. There are a number of complex forms to complete, and then potentially long wait times after the claim has been submitted. Add to this, the fabled black hole in Centrelink, where information provided is on occasion not received or simply delayed within that black hole.

Pension Services have seen cases where our clients have been declined the age pension when they have clearly been entitled to it, and have not been notified by Centrelink in a reasonable timeframe.

When people come across Pension Services, they realise there is someone prepared to remove all the stress and anxiety from claiming their age pension, providing a great sense of relief. This could mean they will potentially only need to go to Centrelink once to identify themselves.

Pension Services has recently helped Joy claim her pension. Joy and her daughter sat down almost a year ago and tried to do an application for the age pension, but got so frustrated by the amount of paperwork and questions, and the back-and-forth telephone calls that ensued.  Centrelink did not help in any way with some of the complexity that she was enduring, resulting in Joy and her daughter giving up claiming the pension she was entitled to.

Fast forward twelve months, Joy’s daughter was recommended to Pension Services to help Joy apply for the age pension. We assessed Joy’s situation and determined she was eligible for a substantial age pension. We calculated the delay in not continuing with her claim earlier cost Joy over $20,000 in lost age pension entitlements.

Joy had some complexities associated with her Self Managed Super Fund and needed to get some updated financials from her accountant, however, this was a relatively straightforward process for us. Joy’s pension application was lodged with Centrelink, and she received her first payment 3 weeks later compared to Centrelink’s estimate of 7 weeks to complete the process, and in addition, the pension she was paid from the date of her application. She now receives approximately $890 per fortnight and is over the moon.

Joy’s daughter was simply delighted with Pension Services saying “ your process was very straightforward and stress-free and she could not recommend any service more highly”.

If you know somebody like Joy, or you would like help for your parents or friends to apply for the age pension. Get in touch with us by calling 1300 025 521 or drop us an email at Hello@pensionservices.com.au. Alternatively, if you would like to calculate how much Age Pension you are entitled to go to our Age Pension Calculator here