Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Prime Minister for Social Inclusion) Share this | Hansard source

At this stage there is no way of disaggregating those two groups. But there are some indications of a trend of increasing numbers registering for the age pension. We also need to think about this increase in applications in the context of other activity that is going on—for example, the government has lowered the deeming rate three times since November. That may have also influenced some of the income streams.

Centrelink is encouraging revaluation of all shares and managed investments held by pensioners. Centrelink is actually doing that today—today is the date that that revaluation of all shares and managed investments will take place. That is a regular revaluation to ensure that the most recent available value of a pensioner’s shares and managed investments is used to determine the rate of pension. The government undertook a special revaluation in November last year following the dramatic falls on share markets. So those currently in the system may be eligible for additional support. That is also part of the mix of what we are considering at the moment.