Centrelink perspective, as the days from commencement until 30 June and the days in the financial year are the same, the gross annual payment amount for Centrelink purposes would be $24,000. If, however, Timothy decided to start his account based pension at a time other than the start of a financial year, it is likely that the amount received and the amount used by Centrelink would not be equal. Consider if he started the income stream on 1 May this year and requested that he receive monthly payments of $2,000. While the actual amount he receives this year would be $4,000, the amount calculated for Centrelink purposes would be $23,934 ($4,000 x 365/61). Graph 1 helps illustrate the actual annual amount received by Timothy in comparison to the gross annual pension amount used by Centrelink for various commencement months during a 365-day financial year. Amount assessed for the income test As mentioned earlier, although this is the amount Centrelink considers to be the gross annual pension amount, it is not the amount used for the Centrelink income test. This amount is calculated using formula 2. What is the relevant number? The relevant number for an account based pension is based on the life expectancy factor of the pensioner. It remains the same for the life of the account based pension and is not affected by partial commutation. Importantly, where the account based pension is established as a reversionary pension, the relevant number is the greater of the pensioner's and the