Are you 67 or older? If you’re eligible, the Government Age Pension could help you stretch your retirement savings for longer, while also giving you access to a range of concessions and benefits.
Can you get the Age Pension if you have super?
Yes, if you’ve turned 67 you may be eligible for the Age Pension even if you have super. But your super does count towards the amounts used to assess your Age Pension eligibility, so it depends on how much super you have – more on that later.
How does Centrelink decide whether you're eligible for the Age Pension?
Centrelink requires you to provide financial and personal information to assess your eligibility for the Age Pension under two separate tests: the income test and the assets test.
The results of this assessment will help Centrelink determine whether you’re eligible for full payments, part payments, or if you’re not eligible to receive any payments.
Here’s what they want to know:
What Centrelink will assess
Why this matters
If you’re a homeowner
The assets test payment limits are lower for homeowners compared to people who pay rent.
If you’re single or part of a couple
For couples, most income and assets are combined for assessment purposes.
How much income you get from employment, investments and other financial assets
This is used to assess your eligibility under the income test.
What assets you own (investments and cash)
This is used to assess your eligibility under the income test.
Your residency status
Only people who have been an Australian resident for at least 10 years (and at least 5 continuous years) are eligible to receive the Age Pension.
Not sure if you’re eligible for the Age Pension? Retirement Essentials has a free eligibility calculator you can use.1 It only takes a few minutes.
How super is counted in Centrelink’s income and assets tests
The balance of your super account is counted in the assets test. An estimate of how much your super investments earn (known as deeming) is counted in the income test.
How account-based pensions are assessed by Centrelink
Some people choose to receive regular income payments from their super by setting up a pension account with their super fund (known as an account-based pension). Our pension account is called Rest Pension.
Just like money in a super account, the balance of your pension account is counted in the assets test, and an estimate of how much your investments earn is counted in the income test.
If your partner has an account-based pension this will count towards your assessment even if they haven’t turned 67 yet.
Income test
The types of income that Centrelink will assess to determine your Age Penson eligibility include:
employment income if you’re still working
income from a sole trader or partnership business
deemed income from financial investments
deemed income from super, account-based pensions, annuities or income streams.
Some types of income, including your pension payments, are excluded from the income test. This also includes rent assistance and various payments from the government.
Deeming is the method Centrelink uses to calculate how much income you make from your assets (like savings or investments) when you apply for the Age Pension.
Instead of looking at how much your assets actually earn (e.g. investment returns or interest), a ‘deeming rate’ is applied to estimate their income. This is done to make it simpler to work out if you're eligible for the Age Pension and how much you should receive.
Deeming rates are generally updated in March and September each year. The deeming threshold is generally updated on 1 July each year. You can find more information on deeming on the Services Australia website.
Deeming rates and thresholds (as at 1 July 2026)
Your situation
Deeming rates and thresholds for your financial assets (including super)
Single
1.25% for the first $66,800 in assets
3.25% for anything over $66,800
Couple (at least one of you receives
Age Pension payments)
1.25% for the first $110,600 in combined assets
3.25% for anything over $110,600
Case study: Calculating deemed income
Tony and Pam’s combined financial assets are worth $425,000.
For the first $110,600 of their assets: The deeming rate of 1.25% is applied. This works out to be $1,382.50 of income per year.
For the remaining $314,400 of their assets: The deeming rate of 3.25% is applied. This works out to be $10,218.
Total deemed income: $11,600.50 per year (around $450 per fortnight). This income amount will be used to assess their Age Pension eligibility under the income test.
How much income can you have and still get the Age Pension?
The income limits shown in the table below are what you can receive before it impacts your Age Pension payments. Your limit may be higher if you get rent assistance or the Work Bonus, or lower if you don’t live in Australia.
Income limits are generally updated in March, July and September each year. You can find more information on income limits on the Services Australia website.
Income limits (as at 1 July 2026)
Your situation
Full Age Pension income limit (fortnightly)
Part Age Pension income limit (fortnightly)
Single
$226
$2,627.80
A couple living together (combined income)
$396
$4,016.80
A couple living apart due to illness (combined income)
$396
$5,199.60
Different rules apply to account-based pensions that were purchased before 1 January 2015 and also if you held a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card on 31 December 2014. Visit the Services Australia website to find out more.
Asset test
The asset types that Centrelink will assess to determine your Age Pension eligibility include:
How much can you have in assets (including super) and still get the Age Pension?
The asset limits shown in the tables below are what you can own before it impacts your eligibility for full or part Age Pension payments.
These limits are generally updated in March, July and September each year. You can find more information on asset limits on the Services Australia website.
What happens if you’re under the limit for one test but over the limit for the other test?
Both the income and assets tests apply when assessing your eligibility for the Age Pension. If you exceed the assets or income limit for a part Age Pension payment, you won’t be eligible for payments even if you don’t exceed the limit for the other test.
How much are Age Pension payments?
Age Pension rates vary for singles and couples. Extra financial assistance is available if you qualify for the pension supplement or the energy supplement.
These rates are generally updated in March and September each year. You can find more information on Age Pension rates on the Services Australia website.
Age Pension rates for singles or couples separated by illness (as at 20 March 2026)
Payment type
Fortnightly rate
Annual rate
Maximum rate
$1,100.30
$28,607.80
Maxium pension supplement
$86.50
$2,249
Energy supplement
$14.10
$366.60
Total
$1,200.90
$31,233.40
Age Pension rates for couples, per person (as at 20 March 2026)
Payment type
Fortnightly rate
Annual rate
Maximum rate
$829.40
$21,564.40
Maxium pension supplement
$65.20
$1,695.20
Energy supplement
$10.60
$275.60
Total
$905.20
$23,535.20
Can you withdraw your super and still get the Age Pension?
If you withdraw money from your super account, you’ll need to notify Centrelink. How the withdrawn funds are assessed will depend on what you do with them (e.g. if you spend them, gift them or put them in the bank).
You should also consider any Centrelink implications of your partner’s withdrawals. For example, if your partner is under 67 and isn’t retired yet, Centrelink won’t count their super as part of your combined assets. However, if your partner withdraws some of their super, it will be counted as part of your assets and this may impact your Age Pension.
Each person’s situation is different, so it’s important to understand all the ins and outs and consider getting trusted financial advice before making any decisions about your super and the Age Pension.
For more detailed information and the latest Age Pension limits and rates, check the Services Australia website.
Case study: Using super and the Age Pension to set up your retirement income
Opening a Rest Pension account
Christine retired at the age of 62 with $395,000 in her Rest Super account. Because she wasn’t eligible for the Age Pension yet, Christine opened a Rest Pension account and set up fortnightly payments of $1,500 to cover her living expenses. When she was about to turn 67, Christine applied for the Age Pension.
Applying for the Age Pension
As she had used up some of her super over the previous five years, the total value of her assets fell below Centrelink’s assets limit and she qualified for the full Age Pension. Christine started receiving Age Pension payments of $1,200.90 from the government each fortnight.
Changing her Rest Pension payment amount
The Age Pension payments covered most of her living expenses, so Christine made the decision to reduce the fortnightly payments from her Rest Pension account to keep more of her super invested.
Based on her age and the balance of her Rest Pension account on 1 July that year ($264,000) the minimum that Christine had to withdraw from her account each financial year was $13,200 (around $508 per fortnight).
Enjoying her retirement income
Adding these two payments together meant that Christine received $1,708.90 each fortnight.
WATCH: See how the government age pension and super work together through retirement
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Applying for the government Age Pension
Learn about some of the support and services available to you when applying for the government Age Pension.
