How the Age Pension, deeming and Rent Assistance fit together — and how income changes over time.
Whether you’re self-funded, fully on the pension, or somewhere in between, understanding how the tests actually work changes what you should do next.
Centrelink runs two tests, and pays you whichever gives the lower result.
About 2 in 3 Australians over Age Pension age receive at least a part pension — this isn’t just for people with nothing else. Here’s the mechanics, current as at September 2026.
Everything except your home counts — savings, super (once you’re of pension age), shares, investment property, cars. Below a threshold, you get the full pension. Above it, your pension tapers by $3 per fortnight for every $1,000 over, until it cuts off entirely.
Rather than tracking what your investments actually earn, Centrelink assumes (“deems”) a set rate of return — currently 1.75% on the first $66,800 (single) or $110,600 (couple) of financial assets, and 3.75% above that — regardless of what you actually earn.
Assets test thresholds, homeowners (from 20 September 2026)
| Single | |
|---|---|
| Full pension up to | $333,000 |
| Part pension cuts off at | ~$745,750 |
| Couple (combined) | |
|---|---|
| Full pension up to | $499,000 |
| Part pension cuts off at | ~$1,121,000 |
Non-homeowners have higher thresholds. Figures index in March and September — confirm current rates at servicesaustralia.gov.au ↗
A part pension is often worth more than people realise.
Going $67,000 over the full-pension threshold doesn’t mean losing everything — it trims your pension by roughly $200/fortnight, while you still comfortably receive a part payment well below the cut-off.
Qualifying for even $1/fortnight of part pension generally brings the Pensioner Concession Card with it — cheaper medicines, energy bill concessions, and other discounts that often add up to more than people expect.
Fully self-funding your retirement from super and investments is one path — but for many people, deliberately structuring assets to sit within a part-pension band, rather than just above the cut-off, produces a genuinely higher combined income than either extreme alone.
Where your own sweet spot sits depends entirely on your own numbers — your assets, your income, and which pathway (staying home, downsizing, or moving) you’re weighing up. That’s exactly what the Wizard below is built to show you.
Know your pension position before you meet an adviser.
A good financial adviser can help you fine-tune your position — but that conversation is far more useful when you already know roughly where you stand.
See exactly where your sweet spot sits
Not a general rule of thumb — your own projected pension and assets position, calculated from your real numbers.
Walk in already informed
Start the advice conversation from a real starting point, rather than spending the meeting on the basics.
A free report to bring with you
Your projected numbers, laid out clearly — ready to hand to your adviser or keep for your own records.
Find out where your own numbers land.
See your projected pension, assets and income side by side across your real options.