It’s a government-funded retirement income that provides a basic level of support for eligible older Australians who have limited financial means.
Pension rates are indexed to ensure they keep pace with Australian price and wage increases.
Most age pension payments are made by Services Australia (aka Centrelink). Age pensioners who also receive certain compensation payments from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) can choose to have their Age Pension paid by either DVA or Services Australia.
There’s several rules to satisfy, including a qualifying age. This is determined by your date of birth and has been increasing every 6 months, stopping at age 67 from 1 July 2023.
| Period within which you're born | Pension age | Date pension age changes |
|---|---|---|
| From 1 July 1952 to 31 December 1953 | 65 yrs + 6 mths | 1 July 2017 |
| From 1 January 1954 to 30 June 1955 | 66 yrs | 1 July 2019 |
| From 1 July 1955 to 31 December 1956 | 66 yrs + 6 mths | 1 July 2021 |
| From 1 January 1957 onwards | 67 yrs | 1 July 2023 |
So if you’re born on 1 January 1957 or later, your qualifying age is 67.
The Pensioner Concession Card comes with the age pension and offers concessions, benefits and discounts (it’s effect is to reduce the cost of living). You might receive extra payments such as rent assistance, which is paid on top of your pension payment if you're eligible.
How much pension?
There are different rates of age pension payments for single and partnered people. As at 20 March 2023, the maximum age pension payment rates are:
|
Per fortnight |
Single |
Couple each |
Couple combined |
Couple apart due to ill health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Maximum basic rate |
$971.50 |
$732.30 |
$1464.60 |
$971.50 |
|
Maximum Pension Supplement |
$78.40 |
$59.10 |
$118.20 |
$78.40 |
|
$14.10 |
$10.60 |
$21.20 |
$14.10 |
|
|
Total |
$1064.00 |
$802.00 |
$1604.00 |
$1064.00 |
How much age pension you might receive is affected by your:
-
Age and how long you’ve lived in Australia
-
Income and assets (and those of your partner)
-
Relationship status (single or have a partner).
To work out if you qualify for the age pension, Centrelink will look at whether you have the ‘means’ (ie sufficient income and assets) to support yourself.
There are two tests: the income test and the assets test. The test which results in the lowest payment from Centrelink will be used to determine what you receive.
It’s important to point out that you must qualify for some pension under both tests or you get nothing at all. If you have too much income and are disqualified under the income test, for example, you get nothing from Centrelink. You can try again but you’ll get the same outcome unless you have less income or assets.
Find out more from Services Australia.