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Technical update and Assumptions update (Dolphin v4)
30 January 2025
The following values have been updated to bring Pathfinder’s technical values up to date to January 2025.
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Technical update
CPI and AWOTE
The projected values for AWOTE and projected and historical values for CPI have bee updated as follows:
| Old value | New value |
CPI | 2024: 3 2025: 3 2026 onwards: 2.5 | 2024: 2.425 (new historical value) 2025: 3.7 2026 onwards: 2.5 |
AWOTE | 2025: 3.5 2026: 3.0 | 2025: 3.2 2026 onwards: 3.1 |
Age Pension
Age Pension deeming rates have been updated in accordance with the new figures published in A Guide to Australian Government Payments 1 January 2025 to 19 March 2025.
Age Pension payments, Supplements and Energy Supplement have been updated in accordance with the A guide to Australian Government payments 20 September 2024 to 31 December 2024:
2023/24 Value (OLD) | 2024/25 Value (NEW) | |
Single $/fortnight | 1,002.50 | 1,047.10 |
Couple (each) $/fortnight | 755.7 | 789.30 |
Single maximum supplement $/fortnight | 80.1 | 83.20 |
Couple maximum supplement (each) $/fortnight | 60.4 | 62.70 |
Single energy supplement $/fortnight | 14.1 | 14.1 |
Couple energy supplement (each) $/fortnight | 10.6 | 10.6 |
Aged care fees
The ‘Maximum permissible interest rate' has been increased from 8.36% to 8.42% in accordance with the new figures published in the Schedule of fees and charges for residential and home care from 1 January 2025.
Australian Life Tables
We have updated our database with the latest available life expectancy data based on the ‘Australian Life Tables 2020-22’ published by the Australian Government Actuary (AGA) on 12 December 2024. These are the same figures used by the Department of Social Security in the assessment of certain income streams, based on when the income stream payments commenced.
In Pathfinder, this affects the relevant number for annuities, as well as account based pensions commenced before 1 January 2015 which use ‘return of capital’ rather than ‘deeming’ for the income test.
Note that while the Australian Bureau of Statistics (another government source) publishes life expectancy data yearly, the AGA’s publications every 5 years contain more relevant data which is used in practice. We will be keeping an eye out for the next AGA Australian Life Tables release around December 2028.
Assumptions updates
Our default assumptions for some returns have been updated based on Lonsec’s most recently published document, '2024 Lonsec Capital Market Assumptions’. These include changes to the capital growth and income distribution rates for Shares/managed funds, and interest rates for Cash and Fixed interest.
Shares/Managed funds
See the table ‘Shares/Managed fund returns (directly owned or in an SMSF)’ for our new values: https://help.optimopathfinder.com.au/userdocs/web/optimo-financial-default-assumptions.
A notable change involves Australian equities (direct and trust), where franking has decreased to 80% (previously 85%).
Cash and Fixed interest
Interest rates (%p.a.) for cash and fixed interest are now as follows:
Cash accounts: 3.53%pa
Term deposits: 4.03%pa
Australian bonds: 4.13%