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Our friendly team provide high quality accounting, taxation and bookkeeping services to clients throughout Australia. Membership of the BANTACS Group and other professional bodies provides us with access to an Australia wide network of accounting experts, ensuring that there is no question we can not answer. No matter where you are in Australia or overse

as we can provide you with your own client portal to easily upload and download documents and with a built in digital signing function. We strive to make tax compliance easy and efficient. BUSINESS SERVICES Just starting out or looking for ways to strengthen your business? We can assist with everything from structuring your entities to preparing and analysing financials. We can offer simple software solutions for GST reporting in an all inclusive price, keeping your time and money focusing on your business. ACCOUNTING Whether you are running a business, managing investment properties or simply looking after your personal finances Bantacs Central Coast Accounting provides a full range of accounting services and advice to meet your needs. For an overview of Bantacs visit our website the most informative and FREE tax and accounting website on the internet, see www.bantacs.com.au

We feel confident that once you have seen the difference professional advice can make you will see the value in using a specialist tax accountant and in particular a Bantacs Accountant.

04/05/2026

Monday Money Talk with Noel Whittaker

Algorithms are changing our world. Today I’ll give you a brief history of how it happened, and next week I’ll look at how algorithms—and now artificial intelligence (AI)—are shaping our lives in ways you would hardly believe. The shift began in the early 1990s, when the World Wide Web moved from curiosity to global force. Silicon Valley quickly saw the prize: a borderless marketplace of billions. The question was simple—how do you make money from
At first, the model was harmless. You searched for how to remove a stain from a tablecloth, got your answer, saw a few ads, and moved on. That was the problem. One search, job done. There was no reason to return. You got the information; the tech company wanted your attention. The longer you stayed, the more ads they could show—and the more money they made.
So they studied poker machines. The model is identical: keep people engaged and coming back. Every detail is engineered—the sounds, the lights, the near misses. The numbers almost line up, just enough to tempt another go. Small, unpredictable rewards keep you hooked.
What’s happening in your brain is straightforward. Each tiny reward triggers a release of dopamine – the chemical linked to pleasure and reinforcement. Over time, your brain starts to associate that feeling with the behaviour itself. So you’re not just using the machine, you’re being trained by it. In the 1950s, psychologist BF Skinner showed that if rewards are fixed and predictable, people stop when the rewards dry up. But if rewards are random – sometimes large, sometimes small, sometimes nothing at all – people keep repeating the behaviour long after any rational reason to continue has vanished.
That is the principle behind social media: sometimes you get likes and approval, sometimes you get nothing, and sometimes you get criticism. What you get, and when, is unpredictable, and that’s what keeps you hooked. The algorithm decides who sees your content and in what context. One post may be shown to people who applaud you. The next may be shown to people who disagree. You never quite know what’s coming next. Apps have even added counters so you can measure your popularity against others.
It didn’t stop there. Socials discovered that divisive content kept users on the platform longer. So their algorithms began quietly serving up posts that strongly agreed or disagreed with whatever you’d just expressed. Outrage turned out to be excellent for business. And that’s the point.
You don’t see the system. You only feel the reaction as the dopamine flows. It has all been engineered to keep you hooked.
We didn’t realise it then, but the world changed in 2007 when Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone – the first smart phone. Now you had the poker machine in your pocket. You no longer had to go looking for stimulation. It was with you all the time, wherever you were. And now it’s powered by AI, not just algorithms.
There’s an old Jesuit saying: “Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man.” The tech giants have taken that idea further still. Children who grow up swiping and scrolling are not just learning a habit; they are being shaped by a system designed to make that habit permanent. Get a user young, and you’ve got them for life. Algorithms and AI are transforming our lives in many ways – some positive, some negative – but in social media its purpose is to turn habit into compulsion.
What started as a distraction has become a dependency. By 2022, around 95% of teenagers were using social media. That figure deserves a moment’s pause. It means the experiment is essentially universal – an entire generation raised inside systems engineered for maximum engagement, ultimately to expose users to maximum consumer opportunities. Some of the consequences are becoming clear. In the 19 years since the first smart phone was introduced, a generation has grown up less resilient, and with less ability to handle discomfort and navigate real human relationships than any generation we’ve studied before. Anxiety and depression have surged, and for those aged 10 to 24, su***de is now one of the leading causes of death. Social media algorithms and AI are not the only cause, but they are a powerful driver, and we are only just beginning to understand the scale of the damage their addictive nature is causing.
None of this is accidental. These systems are designed with one purpose: to capture your attention and keep it. The longer you stay, the more valuable you become. That’s the business model.
Every click, every pause, every scroll is being measured. The algorithm is constantly learning what keeps you engaged, then feeding you more of it. Over time, it shapes what you see, and that shapes what you think about, and even how you feel. You may think you’re in control, but the system is quietly steering you.
That doesn’t mean the technology is all bad. In many ways, technology has transformed our lives for the better. But like any powerful tool, it comes with risks – especially when it offers incentives that are all about keeping you hooked.
Next week, I’ll take a closer look at how today’s technologies are influencing our lives in ways most people have yet to fully understand.

27/04/2026

Monday Money Talk with Noel Whittaker

Aged care is fast becoming one of Australia’s biggest industries, with an annual budget topping $50 billion. The scale of the challenge was laid bare this week, with the Federal government set to spend $1 billion just to fund basic support like showering, dressing and continence care. Yet the real problem isn’t just cost – it’s complexity.
Aged care is no longer a simple fee, or even a straightforward mix of charges. There are five separate components to navigate. First is the accommodation payment, which can be paid as a lump sum (a Refundable Accommodation Deposit or RAD), a daily payment (DAP), or a blend of both. Second is the basic daily fee, which everyone pays.
After that, the fog rolls in. There’s a hotelling fee and a non-clinical care contribution – both means-tested – covering everyday living costs and support. Then comes the higher everyday living fee for extras like entertainment subscriptions or a glass of wine with dinner. It’s little wonder families feel overwhelmed.
At some point in almost everyone’s aged care journey, they are handed a 37-page document with the words, “You need to fill in this form,” delivered in a tone that suggests it’s compulsory. The form calculates your means-tested fees and is packed with financial questions. Hospital discharge planners, assessors and even aged care homes will tell you it has to be done. It doesn’t: completing it is a choice. And for many Australians, it can be an expensive mistake.
At the heart of the confusion is a system that has become extraordinarily complex. The means test is not a simple calculation but a layered formula, with six levels of income assessment and six levels of asset assessment, the results then added together. For most people, working out in advance what they will actually pay is close to impossible.
On the surface, the 37-page form looks manageable. It asks for familiar information: your home, bank accounts, superannuation and investments. For retirees with straightforward finances, particularly those already on a means-tested pension, completing it may be relatively painless.
But for others, the complexity escalates quickly. Tick a box for an investment property, family trust or private company and the paperwork explodes. Suddenly you can be asked for tax returns, financial statements, balance sheets and depreciation schedules. Each extra structure can trigger another round of documents – sometimes almost as extensive as the original form.
For many self-funded retirees, that means paying an accountant to assemble it all, just as costs are already mounting. And here’s the uncomfortable truth: in many cases, the outcome is already locked in.
The means test assesses both income and assets to determine your contribution. While there are thresholds and caps, the broad reality is that once your assessable assets are around $1 million you are likely to be paying the maximum.
Then there’s another quirk. The RAD – often the largest single payment when entering aged care – is counted as an assessable asset, even though your home usually isn’t.
So, a retiree who pays a $750,000 deposit and retains $250,000 in other investments is effectively assessed as having $1 million in assets. The result? Even someone receiving a full age pension can find themselves paying the maximum means-tested fees. And these are high, though for now at least they remain capped.
For those in this position, completing the 37-page form – and all the additional supporting documentation – may change nothing.
I’m not suggesting the means assessment should be ignored entirely. For full age pensioners with limited assets and simple financial arrangements, completing the form is often worthwhile, and in some cases necessary. If you are claiming to be of low means, the assessment is compulsory. And where your information is already held by Services Australia, the exercise may involve little more than confirming existing details.
Aged Care Guru Rachel Lane says that for part-pensioners and self-funded retirees, a pragmatic question arises: is the juice worth the squeeze? If it is clear you will pay the maximum means-tested fees regardless, choosing not to complete the assessment is a legitimate option. She explains that many aged care homes will offer cost estimates before you enter care. If that opportunity arises, take it – but make sure those numbers reflect not just your financial position now, but how those costs will change if your circumstances change, for example if the family home is later sold to fund the accommodation deposit. Otherwise, you can use the cost estimator on the MyAgedCare website. In either case, knowing the outcome before filling in the forms is a smart move.
If you decide not to complete the means assessment, you simply pay the maximum applicable charges – specifically the hotelling fee and the non-clinical care contribution – without the administrative headache or additional cost of the form.
Ultimately, the means test is just a formula – an extraordinarily complicated one. It produces the same answer regardless of how much effort goes into the working. In a system this complex, the smart move is recognising when the outcome is already set—and not wasting time, money and energy trying to change it. That’s why getting specialist advice before you act is essential. Heaven help an older person trying to do it on their own

23/04/2026

Productivity Commissioner Danielle Wood says Australia will not meet the federal government's 1.2 million new home target, as residential construction rates fall.

14/04/2026

Monday Money Talk with Noel Whittaker
Identification and verification are becoming major issues as scams become more prevalent, and they can create unexpected roadblocks. Those roadblocks can appear in surprising places especially for Australians who were born overseas, or whose families were born overseas.
A reader recently wrote to me about his mother, who is 93 and living independently in Australia, but was born in Poland. They needed to draw money from her account to pay for aged care, but the name on her bank account is different from the name on her legal documents. For privacy reasons, let’s call her Małgorzata, which is the Polish version of Margaret.
The savings account has been in the name of Margaret for years. But when the bank carried out the identity check that is now required, her documents did not match. She has no current photo ID: no passport, and no driver’s licence. All she has is a Medicare card and a pension card, neither of which includes a photograph. After a somewhat robust discussion with the bank, it finally accepted a combination of her Medicare card, Centrelink card and electricity bill.
These problems crop up in many areas. In everyday life, many people with names that are unfamiliar to English-speakers, or simply long by English standards, keep their full legal surname but use a shortened version for convenience on bank accounts, email addresses and informal records. For example, a surname such as Chandrasekaran might simply be shortened to Chandra. That can cause problems later, when institutions require an exact match with legal documents.
That may sound like a minor administrative issue, but it becomes serious when money, health decisions or estates are involved. In those situations, exact identification is not just helpful, it is critical. Any inconsistency can cause delays, disputes and significant expense.
My legal friends tell me that they regularly see applications for probate held up because the deceased’s name on the will does not match their name on the death certificate. We once knew someone who called herself Marie, but whose other names on her personal papers ranged across Marie Anne, Maree Anne and Marie Ann. And the wildcard here is potential for hyphens to make it even more complicated.
While we’re on the subject of estate planning, remember to keep your will updated. Many who get as far as making a will then fail to keep it current. As time passes, many events influence the way a will-maker would like to have their precious assets distributed. These include normal lifetime events such as death, divorce, remarriage and children being born, which is why it’s important to review your will every few years, or whenever a significant event happens.
And there is another major issue that is often forgotten: access. Just recently, I heard about an old bloke who had made his enduring power of attorney, advance health directive, and will. He then very carefully locked them in a safe deposit box at his bank. Sadly, this meant they were inaccessible to anyone but him without getting some kind of court order, which involved time and money.
The lesson to take from this is to make sure your family know where these documents are and how to get them. This applies particularly to the document that sets out your wishes if you become seriously ill or incapacitated – called an advance health directive in Queensland, but going by various names in other states. To be of use, these must be readily accessible when you suffer an accident or acute illness.
A friend was telling me about her 94-year-old mother, a lonely widow in poor health, who was looking forward to passing on. One day she had a bad fall at home, but because her health directive could not be located (it was at the doctor’s office and it was the weekend), the paramedics were obliged to resuscitate her, which was against her wishes. Throughout Australia, medical staff must try to preserve life unless a valid document gives a relevant instruction to the contrary, such as “do not resuscitate”.
Remember too, that a major part of your estate planning should include an enduring power of attorney. This gives specified people, normally family members, the right to make financial decisions on your behalf if you are unavailable, in poor health, or, as we see increasingly, losing decision-making capacity. Unfortunately, human nature being what it is, these are often signed and filed away with the other estate documents until an unexpected event happens and the document is required urgently. But it’s always a good idea to test the document out long before you need it.
My son, who is an American resident, gave me power of attorney for his account at Bankwest, and it took them a week to approve it for use at their bank. Recently, I heard the case of a widow who had given her son and daughter an enduring power of attorney. When they needed to withdraw $500,000 from a bank account to pay a residential aged care bond, they got a shock when the bank told them the document was invalid. The widow had given her two children power to act for her via an EPA, but because they had signed first, the bank held the document was invalid, because it’s not legally possible to accept the power before it’s given.
Legal advice was that it could easily be fixed by having the attorneys re-sign the paperwork. However, the bank would not accept that view, and a rigorous legal debate ensued. In the end, they had to go to court.
It’s a reminder not to take estate planning for granted. Long before documents are needed, make sure they exist, can be found, will actually work when you need them, and that names are consistently spelt on all the relevant records.
You may find my Executors’ and Attorneys’ Cheat Sheet useful. This prompts for many kinds of information relevant to enabling your attorney/s and executor/s to carry out your wishes, including the issues covered in this column. It is available as a free download at www.noelwhittaker.com.au

07/04/2026

Monday Money Talk with Noel Whittaker

Scammers have been with us for decades, and their activities have been well publicised. Most people now know the dangers of unsolicited phone calls, and are savvy enough to ignore texts pretending to be from their children on an unknown number saying, “my phone has been stolen, and I need some money to help me out.” Yet despite all this, scammers still reaped more than $2 billion from Australians last year: their methods are becoming ever more creative and sophisticated.
I’ve been happily playing online Scrabble (Words with Friends) for many years. It’s a one-on-one game, and players usually have a photo or some random image. It’s largely anonymous, and there is rarely any contact with your opponent apart from the occasional “Merry Christmas” or “good game.” It has always felt like a safe and rather old-fashioned pastime.
But the landscape is changing.
Over the past year I’ve noticed more and more invitations from very attractive young women, often with a strategically chosen photo featuring an enticing glimpse of cleavage. That in itself is unusual enough in a word game, but curiosity gets the better of you. The game starts normally, then comes a casual question such as, “Where are you from?” You reply “Australia,” and they say they’re somewhere in America. Soon they ask if you’re married. When I reply that I am, with grandchildren, the answer is usually along the lines of “age is just a number,” followed fairly quickly by a suggestion that we move the conversation to Telegram so we can speak more freely.
That’s usually where I stop.
However, one day, purely in the interests of research, I decided to see what would happen if I kept going. I declined to move to Telegram but continued chatting within the game. What followed was quite extraordinary and went on for the better part of two months.
I met “Cassie”, who supposedly owned a hairdressing salon in South Carolina, and “Linda”, who claimed to be a three-star general with peacekeeping troops in Syria. Both were divorced, each had one child, and both quickly developed a keen interest in my life. Their stories were detailed, consistent, and surprisingly believable. The conversations were friendly, sometimes flattering, and always engaging.
But there was one constant. When I suggested something as simple as a FaceTime or Zoom call, the conversation ended abruptly. No excuses, no explanations – just silence.
So what was going on? I asked ChatGPT, which explained that this is a classic romance scam, often called a “pig butchering” scam – because you, the intended victim, are the pig being fattened up. The scammers invest time, sometimes weeks or months, building trust and emotional attachment before eventually asking for money. The photos are stolen from real people’s social media accounts, and many of these operations are run from compounds in Southeast Asia, often using trafficked workers under appalling conditions. My “friends” Cassie and Linda never existed.
The reason they try to move you to Telegram is that it allows anonymous accounts, has very little moderation, and takes the conversation away from the original platform where suspicious behaviour might be detected. It also makes it far harder for law enforcement agencies to track what is going on. Once you leave the original platform, you are effectively on your own.
Then came a completely different approach.
I received an email from a reader saying they had a throat infection and could not speak, and asking if we could communicate by email instead. It did not seem unreasonable – after all, people do get sick – so I replied. The response was a request to help a sick child get food, suggesting that a donation of $100 in cryptocurrency would make a big difference.
To me, it made no sense. It was such an obvious con that I could not see how any reasonable person would fall for it. But once again, ChatGPT explained the real purpose. They are not primarily chasing the $100. They are testing for engagement. They are building lists of people who will open, read, and respond to emails of that kind. Once you engage, even out of politeness, your name goes onto a list as a potential target.
Sure enough, for the next three months I received a steady stream of emails from different people, all claiming to have throat infections.
The next scam was more sophisticated again—and far more convincing.
An email arrived from someone calling himself Raylan McCarty. He congratulated me on my book Wills, Death and Taxes and offered to feature it in a group he runs called “The Perks of Being a Book Addict.” The email was beautifully written and had the ring of authenticity about it. He spoke about readers facing mortality, people suddenly responsible for managing someone else’s affairs, and others who had been putting off difficult conversations. He said the strength of my book was that it gave people the language to deal with those issues.
It was, frankly, exactly the sort of feedback any author would be pleased to receive.
He then suggested that I participate in online forums, saying that readers are far more likely to engage with authors they see as real people. It all sounded entirely reasonable, and I was intrigued enough to reply. I asked where he was based and whether there were any costs involved.
That was the turning point.
The organisation was supposedly based in Edinburgh, and there would be a modest upfront fee of US $250 to cover administration and distribution to their extensive mailing list. It was not a large amount of money, and that was precisely the point. It was just enough to seem reasonable, and just small enough not to trigger immediate suspicion.
I was seriously considering the offer, but something made me pause. Once again, I checked with ChatGPT. The explanation was immediate and clear. This is a classic scam structure. The overseas location adds a layer of credibility while making verification difficult. The relatively small upfront fee increases the likelihood of payment. And if the scammer can persuade a thousand people to pay $250, their takings add up very quickly.
The final proof came a week later when I received an almost identical email from someone else.
The worrying thing is that none of this is accidental. Once again, according to ChatGPT, it is really a numbers game: thousands of approaches are made in the hope that a small percentage will respond, build trust, and eventually send money. The game, the flattery, the emails – they are all carefully designed bait. And while most of us like to think we would never fall for it, the uncomfortable truth is that these scams do not rely on technology at all. They rely on human nature. You have been warned.

Noel Whittaker is the author of Retirement Made Simple, Wills Death and Taxes and numerous other books on personal finance. Email: [email protected]

30/03/2026

Monday Money Talk with Noel Whittaker

The Reserve Bank has spoken, and rates are up by another 25 basis points. Frankly it defies logic. Monetary policy is meant to be straightforward: when the economy overheats, you slow it with higher rates; when it weakens, you ease off. Sadly, in today’s economy, it’s not that simple.
The bank got it wrong. Today’s inflation is not being driven by households going on a spending spree; it is being fuelled by surging construction costs and a spike in oil prices caused by the conflict in Iran — forces well beyond the control of ordinary Australians. The Reserve Bank is using the only lever it has, but it is hitting the wrong target.
Yes, inflation was already running hot before the conflict began, and a rate rise was always likely. But common sense suggests the better course would have been to pause for a month and see how events unfolded. If they had done that, they would have found that an energy crisis hits the economy much harder than six rate hikes.
Higher interest rates will not bring down global oil prices or ease construction costs, but they will hit households hard. We are now facing a serious energy shock, and families already stretched by rising fuel and grocery bills are being squeezed again — the last thing they need is an increase in their loan repayments.
Of course, this has triggered a flood of headlines about how much more borrowers will have to pay – and many of them were wrong. The maths is simple: a quarter per cent rise in interest rates adds about $5 a week for every $100,000 of debt. So if you have an $800,000 loan, each 0.25 per cent increase costs roughly $40 a week.
This raises the obvious question: is it time to fix your interest rate? Historically, fixing has rarely paid off, and in this case the horse may already have bolted, because banks have lifted their fixed rates ahead of these moves.
A typical variable rate for owner-occupiers is around 5.84% to 6.4%, depending on the lender and how sharp a deal you have negotiated. Strong borrowers may be a little below this range, while others may be slightly above it. Five-year fixed rates are generally in a similar range, often around 6.0% to 6.49%, and in many cases sit slightly higher than variable rates.
The key point is that fixed rates are no longer the bargain they once were. Banks are pricing in the expectation that rates may stay high for the long term, so locking in for five years usually means paying a premium for certainty rather than securing a lower rate. In simple terms, fixing today is less about saving money and more about buying peace of mind if rates rise further. The trade-off is loss of flexibility: fixed loans may carry significant break costs if you need to exit early. There can also be a rate lock fee before you even get the loan. This is a fee to guarantee the rate at settlement. Some banks will charge a set fee, while others will charge a percentage based on the loan amount. For example, a $500 fee or 0.15 per cent of the loan amount, which on a loan of $700,000 equates to a fee of $1050.
Some banks say the rate lock starts when you apply; others only lock it in once you have unconditional approval, which can take weeks – especially if you are self-employed and your accountant has to get involved. By then, the banks may already have moved their four- and five-year fixed rates higher.
Also before fixing you must understand break costs: the price you pay to exit a fixed loan early. This is where many borrowers come unstuck. It’s a minefield, and good advice matters. A competent mortgage broker who understands the system can be worth their weight in gold.
Fixing can provide certainty and peace of mind, but it is not for everyone. A variable rate offers flexibility and the chance to benefit if rates fall, particularly if you plan to pay down debt quickly. The key is to think about your future: your income, your job security, and whether your circumstances might change. If you can’t see clearly five years ahead – and few of us can – a shorter fixed term may be a wiser course. Some borrowers also hedge their bets with a cocktail loan: fixing part of the loan and keeping the rest variable, giving them both certainty and flexibility.
Remember, in the end the best strategy is not about picking the perfect rate – it’s about putting yourself in a position where you can sleep at night, whatever happens next.
Noel Whittaker is the author of Retirement Made Simple, Wills Death and Taxes and numerous other books on personal finance. Email: [email protected]

23/03/2026

Monday Money Talk with Noel Whittaker

Deeming is back in the news with a further increase to the deeming rates from 20 March, in parallel with the automatic indexation of the pension. Deeming is a major issue for retirees – it doesn’t just affect income-tested pensioners, it also determines eligibility for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card and plays a major role in calculating aged care fees.
Deeming began in 1990 to discourage pensioners from using low-interest accounts to dodge the income test. It was later extended to most financial investments, though never property. In theory, rates track the cash rate, but over the years they dropped below it. The government is now playing catch-up by increasing the deeming rates at the same time as pensioners receive their automatic increase due to inflation.
From 20 March the lower deeming rate lifts to 1.25% and the upper from 2.25% to 3.25%. For singles, the lower rate applies to the first $64,200 of financial assets, with the higher rate on the balance. For couples, it applies to the first $106,200 combined, with the higher rate on the remainder.
At the same time, singles gain an extra $22 a fortnight, bringing the full fortnightly pension to $1,200.90, or $31,223 a year. Couples gain $33.40 combined, lifting their full combined pension to $47,070 a year. As assets increase and deemed income increases accordingly, the pension will reduce at the rate of 50 cents for each additional dollar deemed to be earned.
It’s a brutal reduction rate, and as ever, it hits the poorest pensioners hardest. Here’s how.
Harry is single, with $300,000 in financial investments and $20,000 in household contents. Before the changes, he was getting a fortnightly pension of $1,153.70. From 20 March, due to the increase in deeming rates, his deemed income will jump from $6,966 to $8,466 a year, reducing his fortnightly pension to $1147.09. The increase in deeming rates more than cancels out the pension rise – he is now $6.61 a fortnight worse off. It's a different outcome for the Bradys, who have total assets of $960,000, of which $900,000 is their superannuation. They get the full pension increase and are $33.40 a fortnight better off.
I'm often asked if the pension you draw from your superannuation fund is assessed as income for the income test. It is not. Your superannuation is given a deemed income for the income test, and the account value of your superannuation fund is the amount assessed under the assets test. And remember, if your superannuation fund drops in value at any time, you are at liberty to advise Centrelink immediately.
To see how the changes affect your own personal situation just go to my website, www.noelwhittaker.com.au, to download the new pension charts and play with the age pension calculator and the deeming calculator, all of which have been updated with the new numbers.
Aged Care Guru, Rachel Lane, says it’s a mistake to assume changes to deeming rates only affect the Age Pension. In reality, deeming also applies across the aged care system — whether you’re receiving care at home through the Support at Home program or living in residential aged care.
The shift in aged care means testing last November has also changed who feels the impact. Under the old rules, it was largely self-funded retirees who were hit hardest. For example, someone with around $3 million in assets would quickly reach maximum home care fees, while in residential care, a retiree with about $1.4 million in investments and a $500,000 refundable accommodation deposit would hit the annual cap.
Today, the pressure is moving down the wealth spectrum. The biggest impact is now likely to fall on part pensioners — the classic “sensible savers” who have built modest wealth through super and investments. Once assets move beyond roughly $215,000, many are pushed into part pension territory, where the system becomes far less forgiving.
For this group, higher deeming rates deliver a double blow: a reduction in pension entitlements and an increase in aged care fees. For those who are tipped into part pension status as a result, it can come as a nasty surprise.
A small rise in deeming rates may sound minor, but for older Australians in care it may mean thousands more in fees.

Noel Whittaker is the author of Retirement Made Simple, Wills Death and Taxes and numerous other books on personal finance. Email: [email protected]

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