Deeming rules are used to work out a person’s income from their financial assets.

Centrelink adds a person’s income from their financial assets to their other income, and applies the income test to work out their payment rate for income support.

This works by assuming financial assets, such as bank accounts, term deposits and shares, are earning a certain amount of income, regardless of the income they actually earn.

Deeming encourages people to: earn more from their investments; reduces the extent to which someone’s payment rate changes; and saves them calling Centrelink every time income from their investments change.

From 1 July 2017, Centrelink works out your clients deemed income using the following rates:

• if your client is single and receives an income support payment, the first $50,200 of their financial investments is deemed to earn 1.75 per cent per annum and any amount over that is deemed at 3.25 per cent per annum;
• if they’re a member of a couple and at least one of them receives a pension, the first $83,400 of their combined financial investments is deemed at 1.75 per cent per annum and any amount over that is deemed at 3.25 per cent per annum; or
• if they’re a member of a couple and neither of them receives a pension, the first $41,700 for each of their own and their share of jointly owned financial investments is deemed at 1.75 per cent per annum, and any amount over that is deemed at 3.25 per cent per annum.

Centrelink includes any deemed income as income for your clients under the income test. If they receive an income support payment from Centrelink, the income test helps Centrelink to work out how much it can pay them.

If your client has a deeming exemption, the amount they actually earn from the investment is the income amount that counts for the income test. The Financial Information Service line (132 300) can provide assistance in applying for your clients’ deeming exemption.

Pensioner Concession Card

You may also have clients who had their pension payment cancelled on 1 January 2017 because of changes to the pension assets test. From 9 October 2017, we reinstated the Pensioner Concession Card to around 92,300 former pension recipients who lost their card as a result of this. People don’t need to do anything, as they will have automatically been sent their card if they are eligible.

The Pensioner Concession Card gives people access to Commonwealth subsidised hearing services, plus a range of other benefits offered by states, territories and private enterprise. People can use this card in the same way they did before their pension payment was cancelled. If we sent them a non-income tested Low Income Health Care Card, they will regain entitlement to a Pensioner Concession Card on 9 October 2017.

Clients who received a Low Income Health Card will have this deactivated after they receive their new Pensioner Concession Card. However, the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card will be kept to maintain current Commonwealth benefits, providing your clients retain their eligibility.

For more information, go to humanservices.gov.au and search ‘deeming’ or visit humanservices.gov.au/pensionercard