Summary
Your retirement income may include some kind of pension payment or allowance from the government. Around 65% of older Australians rely on a government pension or allowance as their main source of personal income at retirement.
Content
Your retirement income may include some kind of pension payment or allowance from the government. Around 65% of older Australians rely on a government pension or allowance as their main source of personal income at retirement.How much you get will depend on how much income you receive from other sources and what your assets are worth. In this section, we list some Australian Government payments and explain some of the criteria you need to meet to qualify for the Age Pension.
The most relevant pensions for retirees are:
- Age pensions
- Disability support
- Sickness and mobility allowances
- Bereavement allowances
- Wife pensions
- Widow B pensions
- Carer payments and allowances
The Department of Human Services’ Guide to Australian Government payments describes payment rates and eligibility criteria for all payments made by Centrelink and the Family Assistance Office. It also contains information on concession cards and healthcare cards. The booklet is updated quarterly to reflect any changes in payment rates.
To qualify for age pension, you must satisfy age and residency requirements. Centrelink then works out how much age pension is payable, which depends on your income and assets and other circumstances.
At what age do I get the Age Pension?
The qualifying age for an Age Pension is increasing. Talk to us today for specific information.
What are the residency requirements?
You must be an Australian resident and in Australia on the day you apply for the Age Pension. Generally you need to have lived in Australia for over 10 years.
How much will I get?
As at March 2018, the maximum rate for the Age Pension is $826.20 for a single person per fortnight. If you are a couple, the rate is $622.80 each per fortnight. These amounts exclude the pension and clean energy supplements, which you may receive as an additional payment to the base pension. For singles the maximum combined supplement rate is $81.40 a fortnight. For couples it is $61.30 each a fortnight.
Your age pension may be affected when your circumstances change. Your eligibility for the Age Pension is worked out by taking into account how much income you get (the income test) and how much your assets are worth (the assets test). The test that results in the lower pension rate will be the one applied.
Assets test
To work out how much pension you may receive, the value of your assets is taken into account. If you have any assets overseas, their value will be converted into the equivalent Australian dollar amount. Your home, if you live in it, is not counted as an asset. If your assets exceed a certain threshold, your pension payment will be reduced.
Find out more about assets on the Department of Human Services website.
https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/superannuation-and-retirement/income-sources-in-retirement/age-pension