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What are the Age Pension residency rules?
On top of an age requirement and income and assets tests, you also need to satisfy strict residency rules before you can claim a full or part Age Pension.
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What government services are available for older Australians?
Retirees and older Australians, be sure to check out all the discounts, services and supports provided by the federal, state and territory governments.
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Pension fund performance to June 2026
Pension funds outpaced their accumulation equivalents again in FY26, with the median Growth option returning 10.8% for the year to June 2026.
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Pension fund performance: Monthly returns to August 2026
Pension funds posted a solid return in August, with the median Growth fund up 0.9%.
Upcoming webinar
Downsizer contributions
Thursday 20 August 2026 at 11:00 am AEST
What you need to know to get the best outcomes with Downsizer contributions, including how the eligibility rules operate, the relevant timing requirements, Centrelink outcomes and your overall strategy considerations.
We will also look at the effect of recent superannuation tax law changes and why these changes need to be considered by those considering making a downsizer contribution.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Watch our previous webinar, Making the most of your SMSF in FY27
Q&A of the month
Q: I am 71 and so is my wife and we are retired. I have super and pension accounts whereas my wife has only a super account.
I have just open two new super accounts (one for me and one for my wife) with AustralianSuper. I have contributed a non-concessional $100K to each of them.
However, I noticed that when I quoted for the retirement balance, they both show a “tax free” component of $100K and also a “taxable” component which is the small growth amount of the $100K contributed since.
I was puzzled if this is correct or I have done something wrong. I thought that all non-concessional contributions including their growth returns will be “tax free”.
I would appreciate your views on this and enlightening me on what factors could have contributed to this taxable component in the new super account.
A: In an accumulation account, the non-concessional contributions you make form a tax-free component. Any growth is allocated to the taxable component, and what you’re seeing in your new accounts correctly reflects the required calculation of tax components by your fund.
However, when you use part or all of your balance to start a pension, the ratio of tax components that exists on that day is preserved in the pension and remains fixed.
For example, if you start a pension from an account that holds 99% tax-free component and 1% taxable component, the pension will also be 99% tax-free and 1% taxable. No matter the pattern of future withdrawals and growth, the pension account will retain the same ratio of tax components and all future payments from it will be 99% tax-free.
If a pension is closed and placed back into the accumulation phase, the dollar amount of tax-free component will be fixed on that day and future growth will again be allocated to the taxable component while the value is in an accumulation account.
Learn more about tax components and the proportioning rule, the recontribution strategy (including video with worked examples), and our case study of a recontribution strategy that includes explanation of the impact of starting a pension in ‘stage 3’ of the example.
Tip of the month
Got some savings in an account-based pension? Don’t let your super fund take you for granted – take the time to consider how to choose a pension fund and be prepared to switch providers for better features, lower fees, and higher returns.
