In short

Centrelink automatically revalues Age Pension recipients' listed shares and managed investments on 20 March and 20 September each year, recalculating the assets test and deemed income on the new prices. A rising market typically reduces the pension while a falling market lifts it, and pensioners can also request an off-cycle revaluation after a sharp fall to bring the benefit forward sooner.

If you receive the Age Pension — the means-tested payment administered by Services Australia (Centrelink) — and you own listed shares or managed investments, one of the most unsettling things that can happen is a letter saying your pension has changed when you have not reported anything, sold anything, or done anything at all. There is a simple explanation, and it is not a mistake. Centrelink revalues your market-linked investments, shares and securities on 20 March and 20 September each year, taking the latest available prices and recalculating your pension on the new values. Because of that, your pension quietly moves with the market — and, counter-intuitively, it usually moves the opposite way. Understanding the cycle turns an anxious "why did this change?" into a confident "ah, that's the March revaluation." This article explains how it works, what it does and doesn't cover, and a legitimate planning lever it opens up.

How does the automatic revaluation actually work?

Twice a year, on 20 March and 20 September, Centrelink updates the value of your listed securities and managed investments — either from the latest unit prices it holds in its data feeds, or by asking you for the latest values. It then re-runs the two means tests — the assets test on the new capital value, and the income test through deeming on that value — and adjusts your fortnightly payment if your entitlement has changed. You don't lodge anything or report prices; it simply happens, and afterwards an affected pensioner receives a letter setting out the new values and the revised payment. If you are well inside the full-pension thresholds, or well above the cut-out, the revaluation may not change your payment at all, and you may not hear anything.

Why does your pension move the opposite way to the market?

This is the part that surprises people. When share prices and fund unit prices have risen since the last revaluation, your assessable assets are higher — and under the assets test, every extra $1,000 of assets above the free area reduces your pension by $3 a fortnight, a taper that has applied since 1 January 2017. A higher financial-asset balance also lifts your deemed income under the income test. So a strong market — good news for your portfolio — tends to produce a pension cut at the next revaluation; a falling market tends to lift your pension. The two effects partly cancel out, which is the quiet virtue of the system: the pension acts as a partial shock-absorber, softening the swing in your total retirement income. For most share-owning part-pensioners the assets test is the one that bites (it produces the lower payment), so it is the change in capital value that matters most.

On the income side, it is worth remembering that the pension is driven by deemed income, not your actual dividends. Centrelink assumes a set rate of return on your financial assets regardless of what they really pay — 1.25% on the first $66,800 of financial assets for a single person ($110,600 for a couple, following the 1 July 2026 threshold indexation) and 3.25% above that (rates set 20 March 2026). That is why a pensioner whose company cut its dividend often sees no pension change at all — the income test never ran on that dividend in the first place.

What's covered automatically, and what do you still have to report?

The automatic revaluation covers the things Centrelink has prices for: ASX-listed shares, listed investment companies, exchange-traded funds, listed property trusts, listed hybrids and notes, and managed investments where it receives updated unit prices. It does not automatically cover your bank balances, real estate, private company or trust interests, or physical assets like cars and home contents — those move on their own rules. The crucial gap is transactions. The revaluation updates the price of holdings Centrelink thinks you own; it does not know when you have changed what you own. If you buy or sell shares, that is a change in your circumstances and you must tell Centrelink within 14 days. The common and costly error is assuming "Centrelink updates my shares automatically, so I needn't report anything." If you have sold a parcel and not said so, Centrelink keeps revaluing a holding you no longer own — usually overpaying you, and that overpayment becomes a debt when it surfaces. The rule of thumb is simple: the automatic cycle handles prices; you handle transactions.

Can you ask for a revaluation outside the scheduled dates?

You are not limited to the two scheduled dates. You can ask Centrelink to revalue your investments at any time, and after it does, your payment rate may change. That creates a useful asymmetry for an assets-tested pensioner. After a sharp market fall, asking for a revaluation can have your now-lower asset value applied straight away — lifting your pension months sooner than waiting for the next 20 March or 20 September would. After a market rise there is no reason to ask early; you simply let the scheduled cycle catch up, rather than bringing forward a cut. There is one important catch to understand before asking: Centrelink revalues all your investments at the same time, so even if one holding has dropped sharply, a rise in your others could mean your total assessed value has gone up, not down. It is worth checking the whole portfolio's direction, not just the one that fell, before requesting an off-cycle revaluation.

What are the most common points of confusion?

"My pension changed and I didn't do anything" — the scheduled revaluation moved it on market prices. "Centrelink has the wrong shares listed" — usually a buy or sell that wasn't reported, so the holdings record is stale. "My dividends fell but my pension didn't change" — the income test runs on deemed income, not actual dividends. "The figures in my letter don't match my portfolio statement" — the revaluation-date prices differ from your statement date. Each has a plain explanation, and knowing them saves an anxious phone call.

Worked examples

These two cases show the cycle in practice. They are illustrative only and not personal advice.

Joan, 73, single part-pensioner, assets-tested. She owns an ASX share portfolio and some cash, and she sits in the taper zone — the band where each extra $1,000 of assets costs $3 of pension a fortnight. Over the six months to March the market ran hard and her portfolio rose by about $40,000. In late March a Centrelink letter tells her the fortnightly pension has dropped. The cause is the 20 March revaluation: a $40,000 rise, at $3 per $1,000 per fortnight, is roughly a $120-a-fortnight reduction. Joan did nothing wrong and there is nothing to fix — her holdings record is correct, and the lower pension is simply the flip side of a $40,000 better portfolio. On these facts the rational response is no action at all, beyond understanding that her pension and her portfolio will keep moving in opposite directions at each cycle.

Bill, 76, married part-pensioner, assets-tested. He and his wife hold a share and ETF portfolio that falls by about $80,000 in a sharp correction in late April. The next scheduled revaluation is not until 20 September — five months off. Rather than wait, Bill can ask Centrelink to revalue now. An $80,000 fall, applied through the assets test at $3 per $1,000 per fortnight, lifts their combined pension by roughly $240 a fortnight; bringing that forward by about four months captures something like $2,000 of pension that waiting would have forfeited. On these facts, requesting an off-cycle revaluation after a genuine fall is generally rational — provided Bill remembers that Centrelink will revalue the couple's whole portfolio together, so he should be confident the total value has truly fallen, not just one holding, before asking.

None of this is something to fear or fight. Centrelink's twice-yearly revaluation is a predictable feature that moves your pension gently against the market — down a little when your investments are up, up a little when they are down — and the ability to ask for an off-cycle revaluation after a fall is a legitimate lever, not a loophole. Keep Centrelink's record of what you own accurate, report your buys and sells within 14 days, and the rest of the cycle largely looks after itself.

Sources

Key takeaways

  • Centrelink automatically revalues listed shares, ETFs, listed property trusts and managed investments on 20 March and 20 September each year using the latest available prices.
  • Because the assets test taper is $3 per fortnight for every $1,000 above the free area, a rising portfolio typically reduces the pension at each revaluation, and a falling one lifts it.
  • The pension is driven by deemed income at a set rate, currently 1.25%/3.25% with thresholds indexed to $66,800 (single) and $110,600 (couple) from 1 July 2026 — not actual dividends received.
  • The automatic cycle only updates prices, not transactions — buying or selling shares must still be reported within 14 days or Centrelink keeps valuing holdings you no longer own.
  • Pensioners can request an off-cycle revaluation after a sharp market fall to have the lower value applied immediately, rather than waiting for the next scheduled date.

Frequently asked questions

Why did my Age Pension change even though I didn't sell anything?

Centrelink automatically revalues listed shares and managed investments on 20 March and 20 September each year using the latest available prices, then recalculates the assets test and deemed income on the new values. If your portfolio has risen or fallen since the last revaluation, your pension can move without you doing anything.

Why does my pension go down when my share portfolio goes up?

Under the assets test, every extra $1,000 of assessable assets above the free area reduces the pension by $3 a fortnight. When share and fund prices rise, your assessable asset value is higher at the next revaluation, so a strong market for your portfolio tends to produce a pension reduction, and a falling market tends to lift it.

Do I still need to tell Centrelink when I buy or sell shares?

Yes. The automatic revaluation only updates the price of holdings Centrelink already knows about — it doesn't know when you've changed what you own. You must report a purchase or sale within 14 days, or Centrelink will keep revaluing a holding you no longer have, which can create an overpayment debt.

Can I ask Centrelink to revalue my investments outside the usual dates?

Yes. You can request a revaluation at any time, which is useful after a sharp market fall since it can bring a higher pension forward by months rather than waiting for the next 20 March or 20 September cycle. Centrelink revalues your whole portfolio at once though, so check the total position has genuinely fallen before asking, not just one holding.

A note on advice. This article is general information only and doesn't account for your personal circumstances. Everyone's situation is different — before acting, it's worth talking it through with a licensed adviser who knows your full picture.