Switch of career could be a good financial plan

I’M 40 years old and seriously thinking about a career change. What advice would you give to someone my age looking at moving into financial planning?

There is a shortage of people in the financial planning industry and the services of financial planners will be increasingly needed as the population ages and the Baby Boomers retire.

It is a wonderful industry and the best way to start is to get any sort of a job with a respected financial planning organisation. You could start as a client service officer, dealing with client queries, and then move to para-planning and finally advising. The company will recommend what study is required.

MY friend and I, both females, share a house. We are both retired, and each own half the house. We are not a “couple” – we just get on well together and have shared accommodation for quite a few years now.

It has enabled us to have a nice house in a nice area that neither of us could have afforded on our own.

My friend has substantial assets – well over the single pension assets test limit. I only have $230,000 in super and not much else in the way of assets. The house is paid off.

Is it worth my while to apply for the pension? I believe that Centrelink will view us as a couple and say neither of us is eligible. I am only asking whether it is worthwhile before putting both of us through the agony of the application, particularly as my friend will be obliged to give her information with nothing to gain from it.

I don’t know where else to go to ask for help – even a few dollars a week would help my situation a lot.

A Departmental spokesperson says that when single income support recipients share accommodation, the Department will ask a series of questions about living arrangements to determine whether further assessment is required regarding the relationship.

By law, a person is considered to be a member of a couple relationship if they are married, or in a registered relationship (different-sex or same-sex), or in a de facto relationship (different-sex or same-sex); and are not living separately on a permanent or indefinite basis.

In determining if a person is a member of a couple, the department takes into account the financial aspects of the

If I share a house, will Centrelink assume we are a couple for pension purposes?

relationship, the nature of the household, the social aspects of the relationship, any sexual relationship between the parties involved, and the nature of the people’s commitment to each other.

Based on the information you have supplied, it would seem your application should be successful, in which case you should qualify for a pension of around $840 a fortnight or $21,840 a year. That could make a huge difference to your life.

Noel Whittaker is the author of Making Money Made Simple and other finance books. His advice is general in nature and readers should seek their own professional advice before making any financial decisions. Email: noel@noelwhittaker.com.au