Roy’s wife has entered a new contract with her employer, so how does she report the changes to Centrelink?
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Q. Roy
My wife has entered into a new contract with her employer. She is also receiving a part Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) pension. Her working hours are as follows:
March to August 5 days per week
September to February 3 days per week
My question is how does she notify DVA of this change? Does she have to declare her annual salary for each period, or can she add the salary she receives for each period and then add them together? I would appreciate any information you can provide in this regard.
A. Your wife should report her fortnightly income. So, when she is working five days per week, she will have to report for the full five days. She can then notify the change to her income when she shifts back to three days per week.
Your wife may also be eligible for the work bonus. The work bonus is an incentive to encourage people who are able to continue working after they reach qualifying/pension age. Under the work bonus rules, the first $250 of wages earned per fortnight will be excluded from the income test.
Your wife will not need to apply for the work bonus. It will be calculated automatically when her pension is assessed. It is important that she makes sure her employment earnings are correctly recorded with DVA.
If she wants to check how her income is recorded or that she has received a work bonus in her assessment, she can contact DVA to discuss her case.
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