Your retirement income: setting up your pension payments
How your pension payments are set up when your advice is put in place, how they're paid and how to change them.
When your advice recommends a pension, we start it as part of putting your advice in place, and your income is paid into your bank account.
How it's set up
- Your advice sets the amount and how often it's paid, such as monthly or quarterly.
- The "Your details, once" form at onboarding asks for the bank account for your income. You only give it once.
- Once you've signed, we start the pension on the recommended platform and set up your payments.
- On ongoing service, payments come from cash first, then defensive assets, so growth assets don't need to be sold in a downturn.
- If your advice includes an annuity, it pays a regular income that's set when it starts.
The yearly minimum
The government sets a minimum you must draw from an account-based pension each year, based on your age and your balance on 1 July. Your payments are set with it in mind. On ongoing service, your April or May review checks it's been drawn before 30 June.
Changing your payments
Need a lump sum or a different amount? Text or email us, and we arrange it. If a change needs your signature, the form comes by DocuSign. For a new bank account, we'll send you a safe way to give us the details.
How it links to Centrelink
Your pension counts in Centrelink's income and assets tests. When it starts or changes, we update Centrelink as your nominee and tell you what we lodged. If an update would reduce or stop a payment, we tell you first.
Ongoing service and the Concierge
On ongoing service, we look after your payments for good. For the Concierge, we do so for your 12 months, and your month 11 review covers what happens next.
This is general information. For anything about your own income, talk to your adviser.
Questions? Text us on 0489 274 766 or email admin@primeyears.com.au.