Investment loan is not offset against share value and shares values not updated
My wife and I have a share portfolio that is of course included in assets. I have been a pensioner since late 2016 and will turn 68 later this year. My shares are worth around $150,000 and I have an investment loan with my bank of around $98,000 balance. Centrelink online and Centrelink staff have no idea how to offset my bank loan against the value of my shares!! Is there some sort of magic trick to this. Any help would be appreciated.
Secondly, I recently purchased some additional shares in an ASX listed company that caused (as expected) Centrelink to revalue my entire portfolio. The issue is that the shares were revalued at a price that is almost 20 per cent higher than today's ASX price. That reduced my pension and caused us to lose my wife's Newstart allowance because we are a tick over the asset threshold. Centrelink website that says shares are updated in March and September or we can call them and they will do it manually. The problem is they can only vary the number of shares and not the value!! I dont want to sell or buy more shares - I just want them to correctly value them so as I get me correct small pension and my 61 year old wife can get her Newstart allowance (she qualifies because of her volunteering work).
I would think that many pensioners with assets have had them overvalued by Centrelink whenever the stock market drops significantly. How did you fix it please?
thanks
David
Yeah tax would be different, DHS just use the ASX share price on the day they value them.