To qualify for the Australian Age Pension, you must be at least 67 years old, meet the residency rules, and pass both an income test and an assets test. The maximum payment is $1,200.90 per fortnight for a single person and $1,810.40 per fortnight for a couple as of 20 March 2026, though what you actually receive depends on your income and assets.1Services Australia. How Much Age Pension You Can Get You can lodge a claim up to 13 weeks before you turn 67, and it pays to start early because processing takes time.2Services Australia. How to Prepare to Claim Age Pension
Age Requirement
The qualifying age is 67. This applies to anyone born on or after 1 January 1957, regardless of gender or work history.3Social Security Guide. Qualification for Age The threshold reached 67 on 1 July 2023 after a staged increase, and there are no current plans to raise it further.
Claims can be lodged up to 13 weeks before your 67th birthday.2Services Australia. How to Prepare to Claim Age Pension Submitting early helps you avoid a gap between reaching pension age and your first payment.
Residency Rules
On the day you claim, you must be an Australian resident, living in Australia, and physically present in the country.4Services Australia. Residence Rules for Age Pension You also need at least 10 years of total Australian residence, with at least five of those years being one unbroken block.
Two situations bypass or shorten this rule. If you arrived under a refugee or humanitarian visa, the 10-year rule does not apply to you. Australia also has social security agreements with a number of countries that let you count time lived or worked in those countries toward the 10-year requirement.4Services Australia. Residence Rules for Age Pension
The Income Test
Services Australia looks at your income from all sources worldwide, including wages, investment returns, rental income, and superannuation drawdowns. A certain amount is ignored each fortnight before your pension starts reducing. This is called the income free area.
For a single person, the first $218 per fortnight has no effect on your payment. Every dollar above that reduces your pension by 50 cents, and payments stop entirely at $2,619.80 per fortnight. For a couple, the combined free area is $380 per fortnight, each dollar above that reduces each partner’s pension by 25 cents, and the combined cut-off is $4,000.80 per fortnight.5Services Australia. Income Test for Age Pension
Deeming of Financial Assets
Rather than tracking what your savings and investments actually earn, Services Australia assumes a standard rate of return. This is called deeming. As of 20 March 2026, the lower rate of 1.25% applies to the first $64,200 of financial assets for singles or the first $106,200 combined for couples. The higher rate of 3.25% applies to anything above those thresholds.6Australian Government Actuary. Deeming Rate Recommendation March 2026
Financial assets include bank accounts, shares, managed funds, and superannuation once you reach pension age. The deemed figure is what counts, not what your investments really earned. If a term deposit pays 5% but deeming assumes 3.25%, the lower figure applies. The reverse also holds: if your shares lost money, you are still deemed to have earned income on them.
The Work Bonus
If you keep working past 67, the Work Bonus can shield some employment or self-employment income from the income test. A $300 credit builds in your Work Bonus balance every fortnight whether you work or not, up to a maximum balance of $11,800.7Services Australia. How a Work Bonus Works Eligible income offsets against this balance before any of it enters the income test.
Eligible income covers wages, salary, commissions, and income from self-employment that involves personal exertion such as running a trade or freelancing.8Social Security Guide. Work Bonus – Overview Investment income does not qualify, and income from managing your own rental properties or share portfolio is excluded.
The Assets Test
Services Australia also assesses the market value of nearly everything you own. Whether you receive a full pension, a reduced pension, or nothing depends on your combined asset value, whether you own your home, and whether you are single or partnered.
Thresholds for the Full Pension
To receive the full-rate pension, your assessable assets must fall below these limits as of 20 March 2026:9Services Australia. Assets Test for Age Pension
- Single homeowner: $321,500
- Single non-homeowner: $579,500
- Couple homeowner (combined): $481,500
- Couple non-homeowner (combined): $739,500
Cut-Off Points for a Part Pension
Above the full-pension thresholds, your payment is reduced. Payments stop entirely once assets exceed:9Services Australia. Assets Test for Age Pension
- Single homeowner: $722,000
- Single non-homeowner: $980,000
- Couple homeowner (combined): $1,085,000
- Couple non-homeowner (combined): $1,343,000
How Your Home and Super Are Treated
Your principal home and the first two hectares of land it sits on are generally exempt from the assets test.10Services Australia. Asset Types – Age Pension This is the largest exemption in the system and the reason many retirees with valuable homes still qualify.
Superannuation is treated differently depending on your age. Once you reach pension age, your super balance counts under the assets test and is deemed under the income test, like any other financial asset.11Services Australia. Superannuation – Age Pension
Everything else you own counts: investment properties, vehicles, boats, caravans, household contents, and business interests. Many people with low cash flow but high net worth, particularly those holding investment property, are caught by this test. You can be asset-rich, income-poor, and still fail to qualify.
Gifting Before You Claim
Giving away money or assets before claiming does not automatically remove them from your means test. Services Australia applies deprivation rules that look back five years from the date of disposal.12Social Security Guide. General Provisions of Deprivation
You can gift up to $10,000 in any single financial year and up to $30,000 over a rolling five-year period without affecting your assessment. Any amount above those limits is treated as though you still own it for five years from the date you gave it away, and the excess counts under both the assets test and the income test during that period.12Social Security Guide. General Provisions of Deprivation This catches people who try to reduce their assessable wealth by handing large sums to children or family shortly before claiming.
How Much You Will Receive
The maximum fortnightly rates as of 20 March 2026, including the Pension Supplement and Energy Supplement, are:1Services Australia. How Much Age Pension You Can Get
- Single: $1,200.90 per fortnight (approximately $31,223 per year)
- Couple combined: $1,810.40 per fortnight (approximately $47,070 per year)
These figures cover the basic pension rate plus the Pension Supplement, which covers costs like pharmaceuticals, and the Energy Supplement. Your actual payment is reduced if either the income test or the assets test applies. Services Australia runs both tests and pays whichever produces the lower amount.
How to Claim
The fastest way to claim is online through your Centrelink account linked to myGov. You need a myID (formerly myGovID) set up to at least Standard identity strength, which involves verifying identity documents through the app.13myID. How to Set Up myID Once logged in, go to Payments and Claims, select Make a Claim, and choose Age Pension under Older Australians.
If you prefer paper, download the Claim for Age Pension and Pension Bonus form (SA002) from the Services Australia website, or pick one up at a Centrelink service centre.14Services Australia. Claim for Age Pension and Pension Bonus Form SA002 The form asks for detailed information about your income, assets, real estate, superannuation, and any trusts or companies you control.
Have your Tax File Number, recent bank statements, superannuation statements, and property valuations ready before you start. Incomplete claims are the main cause of processing delays.
Taking the Pension Overseas
You can generally continue receiving the Age Pension while travelling or living overseas, but the rules shift depending on how long you are gone and your residency history. If you leave Australia on a permanent or long-term basis, your payment may be adjusted to a proportional rate based on how long you lived in Australia.15Services Australia. Travel Outside Australia Rules for Age Pension
One rule catches people out. If you returned to Australia to live and started receiving the pension after returning, then leave again within two years, your payment may stop. Travelling to a country with a social security agreement may let you keep it during that period.15Services Australia. Travel Outside Australia Rules for Age Pension Contact Services Australia before any extended trip to check how it will affect your payment.