How much can I have and still get the Age Pension?

It's the question almost every Australian approaching retirement asks, and it's a genuinely important one — the Age Pension can be worth tens of thousands of dollars a year, plus a concession card worth more again. Yet a surprising number of people get the answer wrong, or simply assume they have too much to qualify and never bother to check. That assumption costs real money. Here's how it actually works: what you can have and still receive a pension, why your home doesn't count, and why it's worth claiming even if you think you're close to the limit. This article is general information only, not personal advice — and because the exact dollar figures are indexed and change through the year, treat the numbers here as a guide and confirm the current ones with Services Australia.

What is the big thing to understand — are there two tests?

Centrelink works out your Age Pension using two separate tests — an assets test and an income test — and this is where most confusion starts. Your entitlement is calculated under both, and you are paid whichever gives the lower result (DSS Social Security Guide 4.2.3, https://guides.dss.gov.au/social-security-guide/4/2/3). So it is not enough to be under one; the test that produces the smaller pension is the one that applies to you.

That's why someone can be comfortably under the assets limit but still have their pension reduced by the income test, or vice versa. Both matter, and you need to look at both.

Does your home count?

Here's the reassuring part that trips people up in the other direction: your principal home is exempt from the assets test. Centrelink does not count the value of the home you live in, no matter what it is worth (Services Australia, https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/assets-test-for-age-pension). What the system does instead is set lower asset thresholds for homeowners than for non-homeowners — a rough way of recognising that a renter needs more assessable assets to cover housing. So owning your home is a big advantage for pension purposes, and worrying that a valuable home will disqualify you is, for the assets test, misplaced.

What are the thresholds — full pension, part pension, and the cut-off?

There are really two levels to know. Below the full-pension threshold you receive the maximum pension. Above it you move into part-pension territory, where the payment reduces as your assets or income rise, until you reach the cut-off — the point where the pension stops altogether. The thresholds differ by whether you are single or a couple, and (for the assets test) whether you are a homeowner.

To put real numbers on it, effective 1 July 2026 a single homeowner keeps the full pension up to about $333,000 in assessable assets and receives a part pension until roughly $733,500, above which it cuts out; for a homeowner couple the full-pension point is about $499,000 combined and the cut-off about $1,102,500 combined (Services Australia, https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/assets-test-for-age-pension). Non-homeowners get more generous limits — a single non-homeowner keeps the full pension up to around $600,000, and a non-homeowner couple's cut-off runs to about $1,369,500. Because these figures are indexed and reviewed regularly (the assets-test free areas and cut-offs each 1 July; payment rates each 20 March and 20 September), the responsible thing is not to memorise a number that will soon be out of date, but to confirm the current limits on the Services Australia website. The key structural point to carry with you is that there is a lower figure below which you get the full pension, and a higher figure above which you get nothing — and a whole zone in between.

Is it not all-or-nothing — how does the taper work?

That in-between zone matters, because the Age Pension doesn't switch off like a light. As your assets or income rise above the full-pension threshold, the pension reduces gradually on a sliding scale. Under the assets test, the pension falls by $3 a fortnight for every $1,000 of assets above the threshold (a rate unchanged since 1 January 2017) (DSS Social Security Guide 4.2.3, https://guides.dss.gov.au/social-security-guide/4/2/3). Under the income test, it falls by 50 cents for every dollar of income above the free area — which effective 1 July 2026 is about $226 a fortnight for a single person and $396 a fortnight combined for a couple (Services Australia, https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/income-test-for-age-pension). Between the two thresholds you receive a part pension — less than the full rate, but very much still worth having, as we'll see.

What is deeming — how does the income test treat your savings?

One wrinkle worth knowing on the income test: Centrelink doesn't use the actual interest or returns your financial assets earn. Instead it "deems" them to earn a set rate — applying assumed percentages to your bank accounts, shares and (once you're of Age Pension age) your super. The first slice of financial assets is deemed to earn 1.25% and anything above a threshold ($66,800 for a single person, $110,600 combined for a couple, effective 1 July 2026) is deemed to earn 3.25% — the rates themselves last changed 20 March 2026, while the thresholds index separately each 1 July (DSS Social Security Guide 4.4.1.10, https://guides.dss.gov.au/social-security-guide/4/4/1/10). This means low bank interest doesn't help you, but strong investment returns don't hurt you either, for the income test. Our article on deeming explains how it works.

Why should you claim even if you're close to the cut-off?

This is the part that saves people the most money, so don't skip it. Many retirees look at the thresholds, decide they're "over," and never lodge a claim. But two things make that a mistake. First, people routinely underestimate the cut-offs, especially the generous part-pension range — you may qualify when you assumed you wouldn't. Second, and most importantly, even a tiny part pension unlocks the Pensioner Concession Card, and the concessions that come with it — on medicines, energy, rates, transport and more — are frequently worth more than a small pension payment itself. Our article on the concessions you can claim spells that out.

So the message is simple: don't assume, check. If you're anywhere near the thresholds, put in a claim.

What do the worked examples show?

These show the taper doing its work — a part pension mid-range, and a small one near the cut-off that still earns its keep. They are illustrative only, not personal advice, and the figures are illustrative and based on the 1 July 2026 assets-test thresholds and 20 March 2026 payment rates.

Consider Margaret, 70, a single homeowner with $400,000 in assessable assets (over the full-pension point but well under the single cut-off). On these facts she gets a part pension, not nothing: her assets are about $67,000 over the $333,000 threshold, and at $3 a fortnight per $1,000 that trims $201 a fortnight off the $1,200.90 maximum, leaving her around $999.90 a fortnight — about $26,000 a year — plus the Pensioner Concession Card (Services Australia, https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/assets-test-for-age-pension). On these facts it is generally rational for someone in Margaret's position to claim rather than assume she is "over," because a five-figure part pension and the card together are well worth the paperwork.

Now consider Robert and Helen, both 68, homeowners with $1,000,000 in combined assessable assets — high, but still under the roughly $1,102,500 couple cut-off. On these facts the assets test cuts their pension hard: about $501,000 over the $499,000 threshold trims $1,503 a fortnight from the combined couple maximum of about $1,810.40, leaving only a small part pension of around $307 a fortnight (Services Australia, https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/how-much-age-pension-you-can-get). On these facts it is generally rational for a couple in their position to claim anyway, because even that small payment unlocks the concession card — whose savings on medicines, energy and rates often outweigh the pension itself — and because as their assets draw down the pension will automatically rise.

What other wrinkles are worth keeping in mind?

Round it out with a handful of things that shift the picture. Couples are assessed on their combined assets and income, against couple thresholds, not each partner separately. Gifting assets away to get under the limits doesn't work as people hope — amounts over the gifting limits still count for five years. And selling your home turns an exempt asset into an assessable one, which can reduce your pension — a key consideration when downsizing. Each of these has its own article.

Putting it together: work out roughly where you sit against both tests, remember your home is exempt, and confirm the current thresholds on Services Australia rather than a figure that may have been indexed since. If you're near the line, claim anyway — a part pension plus the concession card is well worth the paperwork. And because arranging your assets and income to make the most of the pension is genuinely intricate, it's an area where personal advice, or Centrelink's free Financial Information Service, can pay for itself many times over.

Sources

• Services Australia — Assets test for Age Pension
• Services Australia — Income test for Age Pension
• Services Australia — How much Age Pension you can get
• DSS Social Security Guide 4.2.3 — Pensions and benefits assets tests
• DSS Social Security Guide 4.4.1.10 — Overview of deeming
• Services Australia — Financial Information Service