Why Has My Age Pension Changed After Updating My Income and Assets?

If your pension went up, we likely removed outdated or incorrect assets Centrelink was still counting. If your pension went down, it's usually because we disclosed assets Centrelink didn't previously know about. We run an internal “mini audit” of your finances to make sure your Centrelink record is 100% right. It’s safer and smarter to be proactive—Centrelink audits are strict, and penalties can be severe. We handle the Centrelink updates for you, so you stay compliant and worry-free.

If you've recently updated your income and asset details with Centrelink—either yourself or through our office—you might have noticed your Age Pension payment has changed. This can be a surprise, but it’s actually quite common. Here’s why it happens.

1. Your pension has increased – Centrelink was assessing incorrect or outdated assets

Sometimes Centrelink has too much information. They might be counting old bank accounts or term deposits that were closed years ago—like a ghost from your financial past still haunting your file! For example, we’ve seen Centrelink still assessing a term deposit that was closed 10 years ago. Once we removed that asset from your records, your entitlements increased.

While Centrelink usually won’t pay you back for those over-assessed months or years, the corrected amount typically starts from your next payment cycle.

2. Your pension has decreased – Centrelink was missing some of your assets

Other times, Centrelink doesn’t have enough information. If there are assets (like a forgotten investment account or jointly-owned property) that weren’t listed, they may have been underpaying you—and sometimes unknowingly overpaying. This is where it gets serious.

Centrelink is not just handing out money—they’re a means-tested government benefit system. If they discover assets you didn’t disclose (even unintentionally), they can claw back overpayments and apply penalties. Their audits are famously strict—some say tougher than the ATO!

We’ve seen cases where undisclosed assets led to debts of tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, repaid over time from future Centrelink payments. That’s why it’s crucial to stay up to date.

What We Do For You

When we update your details, we do more than just submit the new numbers. We do a full internal review—like a mini audit—to make sure:

Old, irrelevant assets are removed,
New or forgotten assets are correctly added, and
Your record is 100% accurate and up-to-date.

We do this proactively and directly through the Centrelink Business Portal, which makes a big difference. Centrelink tends to view voluntary updates far more favourably than data-matched discrepancies found in audits.

Should I just leave it and hope for the best?

Short answer: please don’t. Some people are tempted to ignore changes, especially if their pension might go down. But not updating Centrelink is a risky move. We've seen people face large debts and serious financial stress later on because of under-disclosed assets or property.

You have a legal responsibility to keep your records accurate, but we know it’s not easy or enjoyable. That’s why we take care of this on your behalf—clean, clear, and compliant.