What is the ‘Income Maintenance Period’?
The Income Maintenance Period (IMP) treats –
- lump sum payments for outstanding leave and redundancy received at termination of employment as
- assessable income for the period relevant to the leave and the weeks of pay included in the redundancy.
It is likely that benefits will be precluded during this period. The IMP commences on the day that you receive the leave payment.
What benefits are affected?
The IMP applied to all income support payments other than the Age Pension and the Carer payment.
How is the ‘exclusion period’ calculated?
Redundancy payments exclude benefit payments for the period equivalent to the period to which the redundancy payment relates. The income assessed during this period is based on the rate paid by the employer.
| Example After 20 years of service and currently earning $70,000 pa, Fred accepts a bona fide redundancy based on three weeks pay per year of service (60 weeks). He has also accumulated 50 weeks of long service leave and 4 weeks of annual leave. Fred’s redundancy payment is based on 114 weeks of income. He will reveive income support after that number of weeks passes from the date of his redundancy. |
When becoming aware of an entitlement to a lump sum payment associated with termination of employment –
- whether a voluntary redundancy or otherwise –
- be aware that planning financial arrangements for any Income Maintenance Period will be critical to maintaining a reasonable lifestyle.
The use of the redundancy money received needs careful consideration during this period without income.
Exemption from this offset may apply
In cases of hardship, Centrelink may exempt an applicant from being subject to the IMP: see Human Services website page here.
Continuum Financial Planners at your service
Our experienced financial advisers are able to assist you with planning of your financial position between –
- the employment termination event. and
- the date at which you will start to receive government benefits.
To make asn appointment with one of our experienced advisers –
- phone our office, on 07-3421 3456, or
- ar your convenience, use the linked Book A Meeting facility.
(This article was originally posted by us in January 2010. We occasionally refresh/ update it, most recently in August 2025.)