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 

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16 comments

Yeah tax would be different, DHS just use the ASX share price on the day they value them.

tax also does not require the loan to secured against shares in order for interest to be deductible, the purpose of the loan is sufficient.

Ok  . For anyone that temporarily exceeds their asset test even for a few days then centrelink cannot just reinstate it.  It requires a whole new application and start again.  Interview, job agency, any volunteer work.  Etc etc.   Tip is do not exceed your assets.  They can reinstate some payments such as reporting but not for exceeding the assets even if it was only a single day.

Good tip, however sometimes it's unavoidable if it is shares or super etc.

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