The Age Pension rises today, and so do deeming rates: what changed on 20 September 2026

Two changes take effect today, 20 September 2026, and they pull in opposite directions. The maximum Age Pension rises by $36.80 a fortnight for a single pensioner. At the same time the deeming rates go up for the first time since March, which raises the income Centrelink assumes your savings earn. For many pensioners who are paid under the income test, the second change eats most or all of the first.

Two things did not change, despite what is sometimes assumed: the asset test thresholds and the income test free areas. What did change is the set of cut-off points where the pension stops entirely. This article sets out each figure before and after, using Services Australia, the Minister's release and the Australian Government Actuary as at 20 September 2026.

What are the new Age Pension payment rates from 20 September 2026?

These are the maximum fortnightly rates, including the Pension Supplement and Energy Supplement, that apply to a pensioner living in Australia.

The increase is automatic. Nothing needs to be claimed, and Services Australia adjusts the payment without any action from you. The Minister's release puts the singles and couple-combined figures at $1,237.70 and $1,866.00, and the Department of Social Services' parameters list gives the same amounts, with $933.00 for each member of a couple.

What are the new deeming rates?

The deeming rates are set by a separate ministerial decision, not by pension indexation. The Australian Government Actuary recommended, and the Minister determined, the following from 20 September 2026:

The deeming thresholds did not change. They are still $66,800 for a single person and $110,600 for a couple combined (with $55,300 applying to a non-pensioner member of a couple), because those thresholds are indexed on 1 July, not 20 September. This is the third rise since the rate freeze ended on 30 June 2025 (0.25% and 2.25%, then 0.75% and 2.75% in September 2025, then 1.25% and 3.25% in March 2026).

Deeming applies to bank accounts, term deposits, shares, managed funds and account-based pensions, whatever they actually earn. If your money is in low-yielding cash, your deemed income is now higher than what the account pays.

Did the income test change?

The free areas and tapers are unchanged. Services Australia still shows:

• Single: $226 a fortnight free area, then 50 cents off the pension for each dollar over.
• Couple: $396 combined free area, then 25 cents off each partner's pension for each dollar of combined income over.

What did change is the income cut-off point, the fortnightly income at which the pension reaches $0. It moves up because the maximum rate moved up:

You can check the single figure yourself: ($2,701.40 − $226) × 50% = $1,237.70, the new maximum rate.

Did the assets test change?

Again, the thresholds are unchanged (they were last indexed on 1 July 2026) and so is the taper. Full pension is still paid up to:

The assets cut-off points rose, because a higher maximum pension takes longer to taper away:

The assets test reduces the pension by $3 a fortnight for every $1,000 of assets above the threshold, so the couple's combined cut-off reconciles exactly: ($1,121,000 − $499,000) ÷ $1,000 × $3 = $1,866.00.

For someone just over the old cut-off, this can matter. A single homeowner with $740,000 in assessable assets was cut off under the old table and now qualifies for a small part pension. For more on that zone, see how much can I have and still get the Age Pension and the asset test taper.

Why does the deeming rise cancel out the pension increase for some couples?

Age Pension entitlement is the lower of the income test result and the assets test result. If the income test is the one that binds, a higher deemed income reduces your payment, and the reduction can offset the increase.

A couple who rent, with $580,000 in financial assets and no other assessable assets or income above the free area (income test binding, because $580,000 is below the $766,000 non-homeowner threshold):

• Deemed income before: $110,600 × 1.25% + $469,400 × 3.25% = $16,638 a year.
• Deemed income after: $110,600 × 1.75% + $469,400 × 3.75% = $19,538 a year.
• The extra $2,900 a year is about $111.54 a fortnight of additional assessed income. The pension is reduced by 25 cents per dollar for each partner, so the combined reduction is about $55.77 a fortnight.
• The combined pension increase is $55.60 a fortnight. Net effect: roughly nil, about 17 cents a fortnight lower. Their combined pension works out at about $1,688 a fortnight both before and after.

A homeowner couple with the same $580,000 would sit above the $499,000 threshold, so the assets test would already be the one reducing their pension and the deeming rise would not touch it.

A single homeowner with $250,000 in financial assets and no other income (income test binding, because $250,000 is below the $333,000 threshold):

• Deemed income before: $66,800 × 1.25% + $183,200 × 3.25% = $6,789 a year.
• Deemed income after: $66,800 × 1.75% + $183,200 × 3.75% = $8,039 a year.
• The extra $1,250 a year is about $48.08 a fortnight of assessed income, reducing the pension by about $24.04 (50 cents in the dollar).
• The pension increase is $36.80, so the net gain is about $12.76 a fortnight.

A pensioner whose payment is set by the assets test is not affected by the deeming rise, because the assets test does not use deemed income. They receive the full increase. That includes pensioners with larger asset holdings whose payment is being reduced by the assets test rather than the income test; which test binds depends on your own mix of assets.

These examples are illustrations using the free area and rates above, not personal advice, and your actual assessment depends on your other income and assets.

What should pensioners check now?

1. Look at your next payment advice. Services Australia updates payments automatically; confirm the new rate appears.
2. Check whether the income test or the assets test is reducing your payment. Your Centrelink assessment shows which. If it is the income test, expect little or no change; if it is the assets test, expect the full increase.
3. Revisit cash holdings. Deeming applies at 1.75% and 3.75% whatever the account pays. If a large balance earns less than the deeming rate, the shortfall is a cost you can now compare against other options.
4. Deeming also feeds other tests, for example the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card income test, so those holders should check their own position.
5. Do not act on the cut-off changes alone. A higher cut-off is not a strategy. Any decision about spending, gifting or restructuring assets should be made with a licensed adviser.

For the mechanics behind these rates, see our deeming explainer, how the Age Pension is indexed and the income test.

Sources

• Minister for Social Services: September indexation to deliver more cost-of-living relief
• Australian Government Actuary: Deeming rate recommendation, September 2026
• Services Australia: Income test for Age Pension
• Services Australia: Assets test for Age Pension
• Department of Social Services: Social Security Payment Parameters, 20 September 2026 indexation