To be eligible for Age Pension you must be Age Pension age and meet some other rules.

Age Pension age

Age Pension age is:

• 65 years and 6 months, if you were born between 1 July 1952 and 31 December 1953
• 66 years, if you were born between 1 January 1954 and 30 June 1955
• 66 years and 6 months, if you were born between 1 July 1955 and 31 December 1956
• 67 years, if you were born on or after 1 January 1957.
  

  Other rules you need to meet

  You also need to meet:

  • residence rules
  • an income test
  • an assets test.

  If you’re legally blind and you’re not claiming Rent Assistance, you may be able to claim Age Pension without being assessed against the income and assets tests. You’ll need to provide an ophthalmologist report to support your claim.

  If you’re Age Pension age but don’t meet all the rules for Age Pension, you may be eligible for a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. This card can give you access to cheaper medicines and may provide other concessions.

  If you get Age Pension, there are other payments, concessions and help you may be eligible for.

  You may not be eligible if you get certain payments from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA). Read more about getting a Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) payment.

  How much you can get

  We use income and assets tests to work out how much Age Pension you get.

  There are different rates of Age Pension payments for single and partnered people. If you have a partner we need income and asset information for both of you.

  Read about how your relationship changes can affect your payment rate.

  If you or your partner get income from or have assets outside Australia, it may affect your rate.

  There are also different rates for some people who were getting a pension in 2009.

  The Department of Social Services regularly reviews these rates to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index. The amounts on this page are the maximum rates each fortnight. In some circumstances, you can choose to get your payment each week. Depending on your circumstances, you may also get an advance payment.

  Normal rates

   

  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
  Energy Supplement	$14.10	$10.60	$21.20	$14.10
  Total	$1064.00	$802.00	$1604.00	$1064.00

  Transitional rates

  Some people who were getting part pensions on 19 September 2009 are on transitional rates. This is until they catch up with the current normal rates.

  Per fortnight	Single	Couple each	Couple combined	Couple apart due to ill health
  Maximum rate	$873.50	$705.50	$1411.00	$873.50
  Energy Supplement	$14.10	$10.60	$21.20	$14.10
  Total	$887.60	$716.10	$1432.20	$887.60

  Income and assets from outside Australia

  If you or your partner get income from, or have assets outside Australia, this could affect your Age Pension.

  How it’s calculated

  We include any income or assets you or your partner have in another country. We do this when we assess your rate of Age Pension.

  We use exchange rates to work out what your overseas income or assets are worth in Australia. If you have too much, it can reduce the amount of Age Pension you get.

  To ask about these rates, either:

  • call the Foreign income line if you’re in Australia
  • call one of our International numbers if you’re outside Australia.

  Advance payment

  You may get part of your income support payment or Family Tax Benefit (Part A) early. This is an advance payment. You pay it back later out of your payments from us.

  If you get Mobility Allowance

  You can’t get an advance if you get Mobility Allowance and you either:

  • plan to leave Australia for more than 6 weeks in the next 6 months
  • plan to stop your current work or training for at least the next 6 months
  • get money from the National Disability Insurance Scheme – this doesn’t include My Way in Western Australia.

  What you can get

  There’s a limit on how much money we can advance you. The amount depends on what kind of payment you get.

  Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A

  If you get FTB Part A you can get one regular advance at a time. You can also ask for a one off advance at any time. But your advances can’t go over a total of $1,296.09.

  For a regular advance, the amount you can get is 3.75% of the standard rate for one child under 13. We pay it to you every 26 weeks. We do this as long as you’re still eligible or until you ask us to stop.

  For a one off advance the highest amount you can get is 7.5% of your annual rate. This includes add-ons but not Family Tax Benefit Part A Supplement.

  The highest advance you can get depends if it’s a one off advance or a regular advance.

  You’re a blended family

  If you’re a blended family the highest and lowest amounts you can get depend on your blended family percentage.

  You’re still paying back another advance

  If you’ve already got an advance from us that you’re still paying back, there’s a limit. It’s the most you would be eligible for minus the FTB advances you haven’t fully repaid.

  Age Pension, Disability Support Pension or Carer Payment

  In any 6 months or 13 fortnights you can only get either:

  • one advance at the highest amount
  • up to 2 advances of smaller amounts
  • 3 advances at the lowest amount.

  You can’t get another advance if you have less than the lowest advance amount available. If you have less than the lowest advance amount available, you’ll need to wait until you’re eligible again.

  You can ask to have the amount paid all at once or in 2 instalments.

  The lowest and highest amounts change along with pension amounts each March and September.

  Your situation	Lowest amount	Highest amount
  You’re single	$503.85	$1,511.55
  You’re part of a couple	$379.80	$1,139.40

   

  We can pay this either:

  • all at once
  • in 2 instalments.

  Farm Household Allowance

  The lowest advance you can get is $250. The highest advance you can get is $500.

  We can pay the advance all at once.

  Special Employment Advance

  The lowest advance you can get is $50. The highest advance you can get is $500.

  You may get a Special Employment Advance if you get one of these payments:

  • Austudy
  • Carer Payment
  • Disability Support Pension
  • JobSeeker Payment
  • Parenting Payment single
  • Youth Allowance.

  You can apply for this advance if any of these apply:

  • you get a job for at least 6 weeks and your income support will reduce by at least 50%
  • you get a job and don’t have enough money to pay for something you need to start it
  • you or your partner’s work reduced your income support by at least 50% and you haven’t got your pay yet.

  Mobility Allowance Advance

  You can get one advance in 12 months.

  The amount of the advance payment is equal to 13 payments of Mobility Allowance.

  If you get an advance payment, your Mobility Allowance will stop. It will start again when the advance period has finished. This can be up to 6 months. We may restart your normal payments earlier if you start being eligible for a higher rate.

  You can’t increase or decrease your repayment amounts.

  Weekly payment option

  Some people can get income support payments paid each week instead of each fortnight.

  With weekly payments you get the same income support but it’s split into 2 smaller amounts. This may help you budget.

  Who can get weekly payments

  We can only pay you weekly if one or more of the following apply. You are:

  • homeless
  • at risk of being homeless
  • having trouble managing your money.

  How it works

  Before we agree to weekly payments, we’ll talk with you about:

  • your budget including if you make payments such as rent weekly or fortnightly
  • your money problems
  • where you’re living.

  We’ll also look at other ways you can manage your money such as Centrepay to pay your bills.

  If we agree, your weekly payments start from your next payment date. You’ll get half what we would pay you for the fortnight. The amount depends on your income, assets and any automatic deductions.

  You get the other half 7 days later.

  If you get an extra payment, we may also be able to pay this weekly. Read more about extra payments we can pay weekly.

  Payments, concessions and support

  There are other payments, concessions and help available for people who get Age Pension.

  Payments

  If you get Age Pension, there are other payments you may be eligible for.

  Advance payment

  You may be able to get part of your Age Pension as an advance payment. You pay it back later out of your payments from us.

  Carer Allowance

  If you give additional daily care to someone, you may get Carer Allowance each fortnight. The person you care for must have one of these conditions:

  • have a disability
  • have a serious illness
  • be frail aged.

  Essential Medical Equipment Payment

  If you need help with energy costs, you may get an Essential Medical Equipment Payment each year. You can get this payment if you or the person you care for:

  • needs heating, cooling or certain equipment for your medical needs
  • has a Commonwealth Concession Card
  • pays for the energy running costs.

  Energy Supplement

  If you get Age Pension you may get an extra payment to help with your energy costs. We’ll pay this Energy Supplement with your Age Pension each fortnight.

  Home Equity Access Scheme

  If you need a little extra to live on each fortnight, you can apply for a voluntary non-taxable loan. But you must qualify for Age Pension and own a property to be eligible. Under the Home Equity Access Scheme you’ll get a payment each fortnight and you can pay it back at any time. The loan accrues compound interest each fortnight until you repay the loan in full.

  Pension Supplement

  To help with your bills and medicine costs, you may get an extra Pension Supplement with your Age Pension.

  Remote Area Allowance

  If you live in an identified remote area you may get Remote Area Allowance each fortnight.

  Rent Assistance

  If you pay rent, you may get Rent Assistance with your Age Pension to help with this cost.

  You can also get other payments depending on your situation. Read more about payments for older Australians.

  Concessions

  If you get Age Pension, you’ll also get a Pensioner Concession Card which gives you cheaper:

  • health care
  • medicine
  • some other discounts in your community.

  Read more about the benefits of this card.

  Support

  We have support services you may be interested in.

  Centrepay

  Centrepay is a free and voluntary service to pay bills and expenses as regular deductions from your Age Pension.

  Financial Information Service

  Our free Financial Information Service can inform and educate you about financial matters.

  Grandparent, Foster and Kinship Carer Advisers

  Our Grandparent, Foster and Kinship Carer Advisers help grandparents and non parent carers who provide ongoing care for children.

  Centrelink Indigenous Call Centre

  Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australians can call the Centrelink Indigenous Call Centre about our payments and services.

  Multicultural Service Officers

  Our Multicultural Service Officers help migrant and refugee communities connect with our services.

  Rent Deduction Scheme

  Use the Rent Deduction Scheme to pay your public housing rent straight from your Age Pension.

  Social work services

  If you’re going through a difficult time, our social workers can help you.

  Tax Deduction Service

  You can use the Tax Deduction Service to pay tax on your Age Pension.

  Work Bonus

  You can earn more income from working, if you’re an eligible pensioner, without reducing your Age Pension. We call this the Work Bonus.

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