Qualification and assessment of Pension Bonus Payment (PBP) 065-07030040

A PBP can only be paid if a customer is registered in the PBS and has deferred their claim for Age Pension for at least 1 year (365 accruing days) since their PBS registration date.

The PBS closed to new registrations on 1 July 2014. The PBS was closed to new entrants who did not qualify for Age Pension before 20 September 2009.

If the customer claims they had registered for the PBS, check the system for dual records. For example, they may have registered under another name or their name may have been misspelt at registration. Service Officers must not register customers in the PBS unless the customer reached Age Pension qualification before 20 September 2009.

Access the customer's record and go to the Pension Bonus Registration (PDB) screen.

The Benefit Status line should show PDB/REG.

Is the customer a registered member for PBS?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 2

Does the customer have a duplicate record?

• Yes:
• check the benefit status line. If the duplicate record has a current PBS registration, see Registration of Pension Bonus Scheme
• ensure the current record contains all relevant information
• if required, code the registration on the correct record, using the original lodgement date
• Go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 3

If the customer has:

• now lodged an Application to register in the PBS, see Registration for the PBS
• lodged a claim for a PBP, see Step 3 in Table 3

The customer needs to lodge a claim for Age Pension and Pension Bonus within the required time limit.

Intent to claim provisions applied to all customers before 1 July 2018. From that date the Contact Claim Details (CCD) screen became read only. Intent to claim provisions continue to apply to customers with vulnerable circumstances after that date.

At initial contact or if the customer has already claimed, Service Officers must offer PBS registered customers Financial Information Service (FIS) contact and DOC their response.

If this has not been done, offer the customer a FIS contact before proceeding with Age Pension and PBS claim.

The Age Pension and Pension Bonus (SA002) form contains both Age Pension and Pension Bonus claims. Make sure the customer has completed both sections when they lodge the form. For more information, see Initial contact by customers claiming PBP.

The Age Pension online claim will present Pension Bonus questions only to customers who are registered members in the scheme.

Has the customer lodged a claim for Age Pension and Pension Bonus within the required time limit?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No, invite claim for Age Pension and Pension Bonus, see Initial contact by customers claiming PPB

Note: do not include periods the customer received payments as a loan only through the Home Equity Access Scheme.

Since their Age Pension qualification date, has the customer received any Social Security or Veterans' Affairs income support payment, other than Carer Payment, Carer Service Pension or Carer Income Support Supplement?

• Yes, code then reject the claim as customer has received a disqualifying payment. See Step 3 in Table 3
• No, go to Step 6

Check the customer's last bonus period which can be either a full bonus period or a part year period.

For more information, see Accruing membership of the PBS.

Is the date of claim for PBP within 13 weeks of the end of their last bonus period, or within 13 weeks of ceasing to be non-accruing?

• Yes, see Step 1 in Table 2
• No, go to Step 8

From 1 January 2008

PBP claims lodged outside the 13 week claim period where Age Pension was granted on or after 1 January 2008 may be accepted if it was beyond the customer's control and their last bonus year was a full year or part year period.

Acceptable reasons are where a PBS member:

• Was helping a close family member suffering from a serious illness
• Had experienced the death of a close family member
• Has poor numeracy or literacy skills
• Was ill
• Was located in a remote area
• Performed irregular work that made it difficult for the customer to determine the lodgement period
• Had experienced a major disruption to their living arrangements (such as their home being fully or partially destroyed or the member or member's partner moved into a nursing home)

This is not a full list Assess each case on its merits.

Before accepting a late claim, consider how late the claim is and whether this is reasonable based on the circumstances.

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, and Age Pension has:
• been granted based on an International Social Security agreement, PBP is not payable. Index the claim. The system will reject the claim 'Failed Agreement Specific Rules (AGR)' automatically, see Step 3 in Table 3
• not been granted, do not process the claim for PBP. The customer may be able to claim the PBP with a later claim for Age Pension if they continue to meet PBS qualification criteria. Discuss options with the customer or refer to FIS. Procedure ends here

Superannuation investment exemption

If the customer has applied for their superannuation investment to be exempted from the income and assets tests, it will still be included in the calculations for Age Pension and PBP at the start day (date of grant).

If the application is successful, a Pension Bonus top-up may be payable. A top-up will only be payable if the date of effect of the superannuation exemption is no later than the end date of the Pension Bonus top-up period.

For more information, see Exempting superannuation investments.

If no Pension Bonus was payable due to the initial assessment of a superannuation investment that is later exempted from the Age Pension start day, reconsider the original decision based on the revised income and asset assessment.

Before finalising an Age Pension claim, check if the customer receives any basic rate of pension or Pension Supplement Basic amount:

• From the Assessment Results (AR) screen in the new claim activity, 'S'elect the earliest Age pension payment line and go to the Daily Rates Summary (RATS) screen
• On the RATS screen, key 'R' against the daily line that includes the start date of the Age pension to view the Daily Rate Component (RAC) screen
• Basic pension is displayed as the BASIC component and Pension Supplement Basic as the PSBAS component on the RAC screen

If the customer's rate of Age Pension at the start day (date of grant) is so low there is no entitlement to the bonus, advise the customer. If they have not been paid any Age Pension, offer the option of withdrawing their claim for Age Pension. This may mean they can claim Age Pension and a Pension Bonus later.

If the customer wants to examine their options, offer them a FIS referral.

Customers who are paid income for longer than one entitlement period (LOP)

If no Pension Bonus is payable due to LOP, check whether their Age Pension start day can be moved to allow payment of Age Pension and calculation of the Pension Bonus.

If the Age Pension start date cannot be moved and/or the LOP payment will be assessed for more than 13 weeks after the Age Pension start date, the Age Pension and Pension Bonus claim must be referred the case to the retirements helpdesk.

Customers with reporting requirements

If the customer is subject to reporting for their first entitlement period, the bonus will not be paid until the customer has met those requirements. The system will check this before making the first payment. It will produce an error for a Service Officer to address before granting payment. This allows the customer to consider their options before finalising their Age Pension claim. Select the error message to see detail about how to proceed with the activity.

If a customer's income precludes Age Pension for the first entitlement period (other than CZR due to Defence Force Income Support Allowance (DFISA) and/or CZR due to New Zealand payments), reject the Age Pension.

Is the customer receiving some basic pension or Pension Supplement Basic amount?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 5

Is this the customer's on-going rate?

• Yes, see Step 1 in Table 3
• No, go to Step 4

Discuss with the customer

If the customer's rate is affected by non-ongoing income or assets, for example, employment income from their last week of work or superannuation not yet deposited in a complying annuity, advise the customer to:

• continue with their claim as they may have entitlement to a Pension Bonus top-up payment if the start day (date of grant) of Age Pension is on or after 1 January 2008 and the non-ongoing income will cease in the 13-week period after the Age Pension start day. The customer must advise Services Australia when this change occurs. Note: this includes when an initial Bonus is payable, but a LOP payment will be assessed for 13 weeks or more. If this applies, refer the case to the retirements helpdesk

or

• withdraw their claim for Age Pension and PBP and re-claim when the affecting income or assets have ceased. The re-claim must be within 13 weeks from failing the work test if not entitled to a late lodgement. Do not cancel Pension Bonus registration or index PBP claim

Is the customer going to withdraw their claim?

• Yes, see Rejecting a claim for Age Pension. Procedure ends here
• No, see Step 1 in Table 3

If the customer’s rate of pension will preclude payment of Pension Bonus because of a LOP payment, check whether the Age Pension start date can be moved to allow for the calculation of a Pension Bonus payment. They may wish to proceed with the claim or withdraw the claim for Age Pension and the bonus. Discuss options with customer or refer customer to FIS.

Does the customer have a LOP payment preventing a payment of Pension Bonus, and/or cannot move the Age Pension grant date or assessing LOP payment for 13 weeks or more?

• Yes, refer the claim for Age Pension and Pension Bonus to the retirements helpdesk
• No, and the customer decides to:
• Proceed with Age Pension grant, the customer's PBP will be nil. Index the claim. The system will reject the claim NPP (no pension payable). If the customer has reporting requirements for the first entitlement period, the system will check again when the customer reports and before the first payment. An error will display before granting payment. This allows the customer to consider their options before finalising the Age Pension claim. Select the error message for how to proceed with the activity to pay the first instalment or reject the claim. If rejected, the PBS status may remain registered, see Step 3 in Table 3
• Not to proceed with the Age Pension grant, withdraw the claim for Age Pension. Advise the customer to re-claim Age Pension and PBP when an amount of basic pension or Pension Supplement Basic amount is payable. Discuss options with the customer or refer them to FIS. Do not cancel Pension Bonus registration or index PBP claim, see Rejecting a claim for Age Pension. Procedure ends here

The process for a PBP claim will be actioned within the Age Pension new claim screen flow, via the PBP screen. The customer needs to supply:

• Their Evidentiary Certificate for each bonus period (if applicable), or
• A record of all work performed to show that the customer has met the work test for the bonus period (or periods) for which the customer does not have Evidentiary Certificates. Acceptable documents include group certificates, tax returns, employer statements, payslips, and time sheets

Are documents with the required information provided?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, request the documents. See Requesting information (CLK). Procedure ends here until the information has been provided and/or the review for the return of information has matured

Has the customer changed their relationship status during the deferment period?

• Yes, update the Marital Status (MS) screen. The system will calculate the number of days 'single' and the number of days 'partnered'. Go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 3

The PBP claim for registered members can be coded via the Pension Bonus Claim Assessment script.

For customers who are not registered members of the PBS

PBS claims from customers who are not registered or eligible to be registered in the PBS on or after 1 July 2014 have to be manually assessed as the script will not function for these cases.

Pension Bonus claims from customers who are not registered members of the PBS can be rejected by navigating to the PBP screen in the AGE/NCL and entering the Calculation Period End Date (normally the date before the customer claims AGE Pension). The PBP claim would be assessed as rejected with reason PBR (PBS Not Registered).

If the PBP screen was not entered as part of the Age New Claim this can be done in a separate activity.

If the customer was not a registered member of the PBS, procedure ends here.

For customers who are registered members of the PBS

On the PBP screen, code the fields:

• Calculation Period End Date: When this field is coded on the PBP screen, this will trigger a bonus assessment
• Calculation Period Start Date: field will have the date defaulted to the registration date (from PDB) if the registration period is 1825 accruing days (5 years) or less
• If the registration period is greater than 1825 accruing days, the 'Calculation Period Start Date' field will default to the date 1825 accruing days prior to the calculation period end date

Note: non-accrual periods do not count towards periods of PBS membership. This means the 5 year registration period may be greater than 5 calendar years.

If non-accrual periods apply, on the PBNA screen, code the Non-Accrual Periods? field.

The PBNA screen is part of the Age New Claim screen flow. It will display when all the non-accrual periods are coded.

After coding the PBNA screen, to enter a manual rejection code return to the PBP screen. Otherwise, go directly to the AR screen.

From September 2008, periods of more than 13 weeks cannot be coded for Bereavement Leave. Consecutive periods of work-related leave and sick leave longer than 26 weeks cannot be recorded on the system.

The PBP screen will display the number of accrual days (partnered and unpartnered). The user navigates to the AR screen.

For more information on accrual, see Calculating a Pension Bonus.

Is the PBP payable?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 5

• At the AR screen, a PBP/OOP line will display with the bonus amount to pay. If the customer is subject to reporting for the first entitlement period, the bonus cannot be paid until the customer has met those reporting requirements
• If required, go back to the PBP screen to view the bonus payment details
• AR will also display status as PBP/PAY-PBN and the updated PDB registration status as PDB/CAN-PBC
• Code 'Y' in the Finished field on AR to complete the activity

If rejection of the PBP is due to:

• an automatic reason, go to the AR screen. The rejection reason will then display on the PBP screen
• a manual reason, code the PBS rejection code in the Rejection Reason: field on the PBP screen. Finalise the activity on the AR screen

A system issued letter will advise the customer they are not entitled to a Pension Bonus.

Record all details on a DOC.