We are a de facto same-sex couple. I am retired and eligible for a pension in   November 2016. I receive investment income of $1800 a year and rental income of $10,000 a year from a jointly owned investment property valued at $225,000 with a mortgage of $111,000. My partner is in his mid-40s and working full-time, earning $135,000 a year plus 9.5 per cent super. We jointly own cash and shares valued at $269,000 and I have $4000 in super and my partner, $95,000. Given our income and assets, would I be eligible for even a part-pension in   November 2016? J.N.
I can see where you are coming from in that you personally don't have much in the way of assets or income. One of the drawbacks of being viewed legally as a couple is that Centrelink measures your combined income and assets and, if a grant of pension is concluded, it then awards you half the calculated rate of the married pension. Your situation is not uncommon for all couples where one partner is the main breadwinner. 
The cutoff limit for a couple under the income test is currently $75,993 a year and, under the assets test, $1.17 million for a homeowning couple, the home being ignored. This latter figure is due to drop to $830,000, or thereabouts, in   January when the assets test is revamped.
Whichever test grants the lower age pension is the one that is used and hence no age pension will be available to you until your partner ceases work or reaches age pension age of 70 himself.
For other readers who might be doing quick mental sums and wondering where one can buy a $225,000 property in Sydney that produces a 9 per cent net rental yield, I would hazard a guess that the two of you invested in an industrial property, possibly a strata unit in an industrial estate.
My husband and I are 37 and 36, and earned combined income of just over $200,000. We have $20,000 left to pay off our mortgage, but have about $40,000 in a mortgage offset account. The house is worth approximately $1 million. We have no other debts. We are currently facing a restructure in our state public service positions. We have been given limited information but at this stage it appears we will have the option of applying for our jobs again (with no guarantees of winning them), or taking voluntary redundancy. We have both been employed in the public service for 12 years. We are told the situation will be resolved by the end of the year but, again, I'm unsure if that advice can be relied on. There is a temptation to take redundancies, but we are uncertain of how much we would clear and if it would be worth the risk. Into the future, my husband would like to invest in property, positively geared. We don't want to make any major decisions until we know what will happen with work, but our mortgage will be paid off very soon. We would like to do an extension and renovation to our house in the near future, spending $100,000-$150,000. But again, given the uncertainty, we don't know when we will be able to do that. Should I keep the mortgage open after it is paid off and in the future redraw the funds for the renovations? The interest rate is 4.74 per cent and the annual fee is $395. I have only just paid the annual fee for this year. What do you advise we should do with our income in the interim once the mortgage is paid off, but while our jobs are so uncertain? K.S.
While things are so uncertain, boost your mortgage offset account to $60,000 and hence cease paying interest, then accumulate savings in savings accounts at the best interest rates you can find, comparing rates at, say, canstar.com.au or ratecity.com.au.
The more savings you have when it comes to making a decision, the more freedom of movement you have. For example, you may be able to save enough to carry out your renovations without another loan.
I wouldn't be in a hurry to buy a property. The best way to lose lots of capital is to buy an asset at or near the top of a speculative boom, which is where I think we are in the residential property market.
The government is going to cut the pension for pensioners living overseas, this after 51 years of working life. This could cause some of these people to return to Australia causing a big load on the health system, myself being from Britain, arriving at age 49. I calculate if I went back to Britain with 16 years working here, I would get $154 Australian. Would this be index linked? H.T.
From 1   January 2017, pensioners travelling overseas from that date will be paid their full basic means-tested rate of pension for up to six weeks instead of 26 weeks, subject to this proposal getting through parliament.
Once the pensioner has been overseas for a period of six weeks, he or she will be paid at an "outside Australia rate", the full rate of which is slightly lower than the standard pension. For example, $21,255 versus the current standard rate of $22,71 for singles, $32,125.60 versus $34,252 for singles. Also, more stringent means tests are used. (Google "Pension rates outside Australia".) Payments are made every four weeks and the pension paid is re-assessed quarterly.
The actual payment rate will change depending on the number of years they lived in Australia during their working life, or, in the jargon, their "Australian Working Life Residence". You need to have been resident here for 35 years to get a full age pension after 26 weeks overseas.
Another factor that comes into play is whether Australia has an international social security agreement with the country you move to. If there is such an agreement, it may allow a full age pension.
You are probably aware that the agreement with Britain was terminated by Australia back in 2001 as Britain refused to change its policy of not indexing British state pensions in Australia, leaving the Australian taxpayer to top up a British pensioner's income. British pensioners must now live in Australia for 10 years before being able to claim a local age pension.
As you can see, a number of factors are taken into account and everyone is in a different position. You need to contact Centrelink if you are moving overseas to determine your particular situation.
If you have a question for George Cochrane, send it to Sunday Money, PO Box 3001, Tamarama, NSW, 2026. All questions answered. Helplines: Financial Ombudsman, 1300 780 808; Centrelink pensions, 13 23 00.