The Age Pension is available once you reach the required age and you have retired.

There are the assets test (around $480,000 limit for full pension and around $1.5 million for part pension) and income test (around $214 per fortnight for single and $380 per fortnight for couple) after which your pension will gradually reduce to zero for every dollar of income (cut off at around $2,500 for single and around $3,800 for couple). See the tables here.

The complexity for trust structuring here is that a person's name must be removed as specified beneficiary from their discretionary trust (without resettling the trust) and they must sign a deed of renunciation more than 5 years before they retire (a "genuine resignation") for this to not be counted towards their pension assets test. 

You will need to structure and plan your assets more than 5 years before you reach retirement age and not enter into new investments without checking these with your financial adviser.

The assets and income test for the age pension have broad catch-alls between associates (business partners and relatives) and relinquishment of assets (including into a trust) and control can affect your pension tests if done less than 5 years beforehand.

The special disability trust is one available trust into which assets up to a certain limit (around $500,000) can be gifted within the 5 year period without affecting a person's assets test pension eligibility. 

Note that the special disability trust must be setup before the gift is made. 

A special disability trust does have a stamp duty exemption that can be applied for. But that application will need to satisfy various requirements, for which the practitioner preparing the application for the exemption may charge a similar amount to the standard $200 to stamp a trust deed in Victoria.

This guide has the following useful examples:

Example 1: David has a special disability trust. His parents Paul, age 65, and Lucy, age 63, are both receiving Age. When the trust was established in 2006, they contributed $300,000 to the trust. By 2012, most of the funds had been spent on care and accommodation, and Paul and Lucy contribute a further $300,000 to the trust. The gifting concession will only apply to the first contribution, and for $200,000 of the second contribution.

Example 2: Greg has a severe disability and his father John, aged 58, has established a special disability trust for him. On 1 October 2006, John gave $500,000 to the trust. John cannot apply to Centrelink for the gifting concession as he is below age pension age.

On 1 June 2011, John gives another $500,000 to the trust. The trust has not received any other contributions since John's initial contribution in 2006.

In 2013, John turns 65 and applies for Age. John's gift in 2006 is disregarded because it was more than 5 years prior to his claim for Age. His gift in 2011 is within 5 years of his claim, and as he is an immediate family member, his gift is eligible for the gifting concession. Therefore his gift in 2011 will be disregarded for social security means test purposes.

Example 3: A variation of example 2. In 2012, Greg's grandmother Marie puts $200,000 into Greg's trust. Marie is currently receiving Age. As Marie is an immediate family member, her gift is eligible for the gifting concession. Marie receives the gifting concession.

In 2013, John turns 65 and applies for Age. When he applies for Age, the available gifting concession is $300,000. John's gift in 2011 of $500,000 would be partially eligible for the gifting concession. The remaining $200,000 of his 2011 gift will be assessed under the normal gifting rules.

Example 4: A further variation of example 2. If the contribution in 2012 was from Paul, a close family friend (rather than Greg's grandmother), his gift would not qualify for the gifting concession as Paul is not an immediate family member. John would get the benefit of the full concession.