Section 45T — Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986: Simplified outline

The following is a simplified outline of this Part: • A person may be able to get a single lump-sum pension bonus if: (a) the person becomes eligible for an age service pension, but defers claiming it; or (b) the person is eligible for a partner service pension after reaching pension age, but defers claiming it; or (c) the person is eligible for income support supplement after reaching qualifying age, but defers claiming it. • A person who wants to get a pension bonus must register as a member of the pension bonus scheme. An application for registration cannot be made on or after 1 July 2014. • To get a pension bonus, a person must accrue between 1 and 5 bonus periods while deferring age service pension, partner service pension or income support supplement. • Generally, a bonus period runs for 1 year. • To accrue a bonus period, the person must pass the work test for that period. • To pass the work test for a year, either the person, or the person’s partner, must gainfully work for at least 960 hours during that year. • The amount of a person’s pension bonus depends on the number of accrued bonus periods and the person’s annual rate of age service pension, partner service pension or income support supplement. A person may get a bigger bonus by accruing more bonus periods. • Division 12 modifies the other provisions of the Part to deal with the case where a person was, before becoming a war widow/war widower—pensioner, either registered, or eligible to be registered, as a member of the pension bonus scheme under Part 2.2A of the Social Security Act 1991.