The Government Age Pension pays you a regular income each fortnight. It can work together with income you receive from other sources which may include your super, other savings or investments or even some employment income.
Key points:
- You’re eligible if you’re 67 years or older, an Australian resident, and pass an income and assets test.
- You could receive the Government Age Pension even if you are accessing your super or working part-time.
- The Government Age Pension’s Work Bonus scheme can help you earn more income from working without reducing your pension payment.
Check your eligibility
Over 63% of Australians who are of Age Pension age, receive either a full or part Government Age Pension. So there’s a chance you could benefit from more income too.1
Over time your income and assets will change, so even if you don’t qualify now it is worth checking to see if you become eligible.
1 Australian Institute of Health Welfare, 31 March 2023
You could be eligible for the Government Age Pension
This short video explains how the Government Age Pension works with your super. It also explains other Government benefits you might be eligible for.
Super is one part of your income in retirement. For many Australians it’s the biggest part.
But some of us might worry we won’t have enough in our super and savings to afford retirement.
To help bridge the gap, there’s the Government Age Pension, which is a fortnightly income support payment to help eligible Australians in retirement.
More than 60% of Australians over the age of 65 receive extra income from the Government Age Pension, to help fund their retirement.
To be eligible, you need to be 67 years old.
You’ll also need to meet the income test and an asset test.
These measure the value of any savings or investments you have, as well as the things you own, besides your principal family home.
Over time, your income and assets will change.
So even if you don’t qualify now or when you retire, you can keep checking to see if that changes.
You’ll also receive a Pensioner Concession Card. This saves you money on essentials like medicine and health services.
Depending on where you live, it can even save you money on gas, water, electricity, car registration and public transport.
If you’re not eligible for the Government Age Pension, you might qualify for a Seniors Health Card which helps lower the cost of prescription medicines, health services, energy bills and transport.
To learn more about Government benefits, visit aware.com.au/agepension
We have partnered with Retirement Essentials to help you feel confident that you’re getting all your Age Pension entitlements.
Use their calculator to find out how much Government Age Pension you could get if you’re eligible and check if you’re eligible for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC).
You may not be eligible for the Government Age Pension now, but over time your income and assets will change. So it’s important to keep checking because you or your partner could become eligible.
Many people who don’t initially qualify for the Age Pension because their assets or income are too high, will find that they do qualify for a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. The income threshold for the CSCH is much higher than for the Age Pension and there’s no assets test.
1. You need to reach a certain age
The qualifying age for the Age Pension is 67 years or older.
2. You need to pass an income and assets test
Apart from your age, the Government uses an income and assets test to see if you’re eligible. The income test looks at all sources of income that you receive. This includes income from financial investments such as your super.²
The assets test looks at both financial and non-financial assets. Non-financial assets include home contents, car or other personal property other than your home. For Centrelink purposes, home contents or personal assets should be valued at how much they would sell for second-hand, not their original purchase or replacement price. An asset like a car would be assessed at trade-in value.
The test that results in the lower Government Age Pension payment is the one that is used to decide how much you receive. Find out more about the income and asset tests.
Government Age Pension amounts for singles and couples
The rates of Age Pension payments for singles are different to the rates for people in a relationship. A single person’s Age Pension is around two thirds of the combined pension for a couple. If you're in a relationship, the income and assets test for couples will apply, even if your partner is not applying for the pension. It’s important to tell Centrelink if your circumstances change. Find out more about pension payment rates for both single and couples here.
2 Centrelink use rules to work out how much income your financial investments produce. These rules, known as deeming rules, assume your assets earn a set percentage of income. This may be different to what they actually earn.
3. You must be an Australian resident
On the day you apply and for at least 10 years before.
Apply through Services Australia
The quickest way to apply for the Age Pension or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card is online. If you can’t apply online you can print the hard copy forms and post back to Centrelink, or make an appointment to visit your local Centrelink office. If you need help with your application you can call Services Australia on 132 300.
The Government Age Pension is not paid retrospectively, so it's a good idea to plan ahead and submit your application at least 13 weeks before you turn 67 to ensure there are no delays in receiving your payments.
Other Government benefits
When you receive the Government Age Pension, you also get a Pensioner Concession Card. This provides discounts on medicine, health and other Government services.
Depending on the state you live in, you could get discounts on gas, water, electricity, car registration and travel concessions. This means the Government Age Pension helps pay for, and lower, your expenses too.
The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card is a concession card that helps lower the cost of things such as prescription medications, health services and transport if you’ve reached Age Pension age. Most people aged 67 or older who don’t qualify for the Government Age Pension will be eligible for this because there is no assets test and the income test threshold is higher than the age pension income test.
If you receive a Centrelink payment, like the Government Age Pension, and pay rent, you may qualify for rent assistance. How much you’ll receive depends on how much rent you pay.
If you own a home, you are not eligible.
Find out more about Rent Assistance at Services Australia.
This scheme offers eligible Australians a chance to supplement their existing retirement income with a tax-free fortnightly loan from the government.
This loan uses your house as security.
You are charged interest on the loan, but regular repayments are optional. You can stay in your house until it’s sold, with the loan repaid from the proceeds of the sale.
Find out more about the Home Equity Access Scheme at Services Australia.
If you’re an eligible pensioner, the Work Bonus can help you earn more income from working without reducing your Government Age Pension.
This means you can earn up to $300 a fortnight on top on your Government Age Pension.
Find out more about the Work Bonus at the Department of Social Services.
For a full list of Government benefits to help support you in retirement, visit Services Australia
Services Australia is the Government body that manages benefit and support payments, and they can help you with your application online, over the phone or in person. You can apply for the Government Age Pension online at Services Australia, or in person at a Services Australia Centrelink office.
A good starting point is the step-by-step guide on how to claim the pension on the Services Australia website. If you can’t complete your claim online, you have the option to make an appointment to visit a Centrelink office near you, or you can call the Older Australians phone line on 132 300.
Alternatively, we’ve partnered with Retirement Essentials* to give you access to expert support with paperwork and Centrelink appointments, to help you feel confident that you’re getting all your Age Pension entitlements.
* Retirement Essentials is an unrelated third-party to Aware Super. Where you decide to proceed with the services offered by Retirement Essentials, Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super and its related entities do not receive any fees, commissions, or other benefits for making this referral. Aware Super and its related entities take no responsibility for Retirement Essentials’ services.
Apart from your age and Australian residency status, the Government uses income and assets tests to see if you’re eligible for the Age Pension. Your super is considered as both an income and an asset, so is assessed two ways.
The assets test looks at the total value of all your financial assets, besides your principal family home, and that includes the balance of your super.
The income test includes earnings you receive from any financial investments, including your super. The Government uses deeming rates to calculate your earnings from financial investments. Deemed rates assume and calculate a set rate of income, no matter what is really earned. These rates can vary over time. Check the Government’s current deeming rates at Services Australia.
More than 63%1 of Australians who are of aged are eligible for the Government Age Pension. However, if you don’t meet the Government’s income and asset test criteria now or when you first retire, it’s worth checking regularly. Your income and assets change over time and that can change your eligibility for the age pension.
1 Australian Institute of Health Welfare, 31 March 2023
A Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC) helps lower the cost of medicines and health services. It can even help with energy bills and transport, depending on your home state/ territory or local council. To be eligible, you need to meet an income test. It’s less strict than the income test for the Age Pension, and unlike the pension there is no assets test for a Seniors Health Card.
You can use the free Retirement Essentials eligibility calculator to see if you are eligible for the Seniors Health Card or the Government Age Pension.
You’re not eligible for the Government Aged Pension if you’re younger than 67 or have been an Australian resident for less than ten years.
However if your partner meets the eligibility requirements, they can still apply for the age pension. Because your partner is in a relationship, the income and assets test for couples will apply. That means your earnings and financial assets will be included in their assessment, except the principal family home and your super if you are younger.
If your partner’s application is successful, they will receive half the couple’s entitlement. So if your partner is eligible for a full pension, they receive $21,876 per year, which is half of $43,752 couple’s annual entitlement.
To be eligible for the Government Age Pension, you need to be 67 years or older, an Australian resident for at least 10 years, and pass an income and assets test.
If you are in a relationship you are assessed as a couple, regardless of your partner’s age. Their income and assets are included in the test (except for the main family home) and their super, if your spouse is younger than 67 years.
It may be possible to restructure assets to help you get the most benefit from the age pension within these rules. While you may know that our financial planners help members maximise their super savings for retirement, did you know they also help retirees with their financial strategy? They’re here to help you lead your life in retirement with confidence. To get started, book now to make a free check-in appointment with one of our experts*.
If you withdraw a lump sum from your super, that money is not included in the age pension income test. But depending on how you spend those funds it may be included in your assets test.
If you invest the lump sum in assets, like shares or investment property, they will be included in your assets test. Any earnings from those assets could be included in the income test. Both may impact your benefit payment.
Your principal family home is not included in the assets test, so if you use the lump sum to pay for home renovations or pay off the mortgage, your Age Pension payments will not be reduced by the assets test. If you are receiving a part-pension payment it's possible that your benefit may increase. That’s because your super balance is reduced when you withdraw a lump sum, and your super balance is part of your assets test.
It’s a good idea to seek expert advice before making big moves on your super savings. Our financial planners are here to help you. To get started, book now to make a free check-in appointment with one of our experts*.
If you plan to gift a sum of money, say to family members, keep in mind that if you exceed the Government’s limits on financial gifting, the money you give away will be considered in the age pension asset test for five years.
You can give away up to $10,000 per year, to a total of $30,000 over three years within a five-year time frame. Any money gifted over and above that is included in the assets test. The value of the gifting is the same whether you are single person or a couple. If you put money into a trust, it may be treated as a gift, depending on who has control of the trust.
For more information on the impacts of gifting on your age pension go to How gifting can affect your payment - Age Pension - Services Australia.
You must declare an inheritance to Centrelink within 14 days of receiving it. It will be included in the Age Pension income and assets tests.
How much an inheritance impacts your Government Age Pension depends on the value of the inheritance, your overall financial position, and what you do with a bequest as soon as you receive it.
If the inheritance is a sum of money, it’s exempt from the pension’s income test. However, if you spend that money on assets, those assets may be counted in the pension’s income and assets test. If you use the inherited cash to pay down debt, top up your super, renovate the home you own and live in, the money you spend won’t be assessed as part of the income and assets test.
The ins and outs of managing an inheritance, especially one of significant value, are unique to your personal circumstances. Speaking with an Aware Super financial planner can help you get the most out of an inheritance, so you are set up for a comfortable retirement.
Over 60% of Australians receive a full or part Government Age Pension benefit. If you have retired and are eligible, it can work together with income you get from other sources. These may include your super and other savings or investments.
Here are just some of the things you can do to maximise your pension benefit:
- Apply as soon as you are eligible. You’re entitled to the Government Age Pension from age 67, and you can apply up to 13 weeks before you turn 67. It can take three months or more for your application to be assessed and payments are not backdated.
- If you are not eligible for age pension benefit when you first apply, check on your status regularly. As your circumstances change, including spending down your assets, your eligibility can change.
- When applying for the Government Age Pension a common and costly mistake is to overvalue your personal assets. Nominate a value that reflects what you could sell your personal assets for second hand, instead of listing their value as it appears on an insurance policy. Centrelink is interested in your ability to support yourself by turning those assets into cash, which is different to an insured value that typically reflects the cost of replacing like with new.
- If you intend to gift money to your children or other loved ones, keep in mind that doing so at least five years before you apply for the age pension will ensure that the gifted money is not treated as an asset by the age pension’s income and asset test.
- Consider keeping more of your wealth in assets that aren’t included in the age pension’s income and assets test. For example, if you have cash in the bank, or other investments, using those investments to repay the mortgage on the family home would transfer wealth from an assessable asset (investments and non-super savings) to a non-assessable asset (the family home), which can help increase your age pension entitlements. However, you could also miss out on future investment earnings and other benefits. Aware Super has a team of expert financial planners and a range of advice options that can help you with a financial strategy to reach your retirement goals*.
*General advice only. Consider your objectives, financial situation or needs, which have not been accounted for in this information and read the relevant PDS and TMD before deciding to acquire, or continue to hold, any financial product. Advice provided by Aware Financial Services Australia Limited (ABN 86 003 742 756, AFSL 238430), wholly owned by Aware Super. You should read the Financial Services Guide, before deciding about our financial planning services. Issued by Aware Super Pty Ltd (ABN 11 118 202 672, AFSL 293340), trustee of Aware Super (ABN 53 226 460 365)
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Aware Super has partnered with Retirement Essentials
Applying for an Age Pension can be confusing and difficult. We've partnered with Retirement Essentials to help make this process simpler. Use their eligibility calculator to find out how much you could get.
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