Anyone aged 65 or over can access super benefits without retiring or satisfying any other special condition of release. Turning 65 is a condition of release. Unless you’re in a public sector fund, such super benefits will be tax-free when paid on or after the age of 60. For a general summary of the super and ... Read more
Age Pension
A Super Guide
The Age Pension is a taxpayer-funded basic retirement income stream for life, for those Australians who meet the eligibility requirements for the Age Pension. The Age Pension rules include reaching a certain age (Age Pension age), meeting residency requirements, and also passing the Age Pension assets test and the Age Pension income test.
The Age Pension rates are indexed twice a year, in March and September. The single rate Age Pension is set to at least 27.7 per cent of Male Total Average Weekly Earnings.
The Age Pension thresholds for the Age Pension income test and assets test are indexed once a year for entitlement to the FULL Age Pension, and three times a year for entitlement to PART Age Pension.
You can find key information about the Age Pension in the articles below, such as:
- What are the latest Age Pension rates?
- How do the Age Pension rules work?
- What is your Age Pension age?
- Australian Age Pension: 10 important facts you should know
- Australian Age Pension: Am I eligible and how do I apply?
- What are the assets thresholds for the Age Pension assets test?
- What are the income thresholds for the Age Pension income test?
- Do you understand the Age Pension income test deeming rules for financial investments?
Note: From 1 January 2017, the Age Pension assets test became a lot stricter. For more information, see SuperGuide article Age Pension: 300,000 Australians lost entitlements on 1 January 2017.
Below are some of our key Age Pension articles:
Set out below are all SuperGuide articles referring to Age Pension.
Retirement income: Come on, how much super do I really need?
You’re thinking about your retirement and worried about whether you’ll have enough money to live the life you want, or perhaps you’re more worried about not having enough money to even live the life you don’t want! Uncertainty can create a lot of stress, and doing some research (see SuperGuide article Financial ... Read more
Retirement income: Today’s dollars, and why $1 million can’t last forever
Note: This article is a supporting article to the three-part series, ‘Crunching the numbers: a $1 million retirement (7% and 5% returns)’, ‘Low yields: A $1 million retirement on 3% or 2% returns, and ‘Crunching the numbers: a $1.6 million retirement’ (links for these articles are set out at the end of the ... Read more
Crunching the numbers: a $1 million retirement (7% and 5% returns)
Note: This article is updated every 6 months or so with new figures, covering retirement incomes when retiring at age 58, age 60, age 66, age 67 and age 70. The article allows readers to compare what a $1 million retirement can deliver if retirement savings are invested with returns of 7% each year, or if invested on ... Read more
Low yields: A $1 million retirement on 3% or 2% returns
Note: This article lists expected annual retirement incomes for a $1 million starting retirement balance, when savings are invested during retirement delivering returns of 3% or 2% each year. If you opt for a 3% investment return, rather than, say, 5% or 7% return, during retirement, then you will need to accept a much ... Read more
Crunching the numbers: a $1.6 million retirement
Note: A $1.6 million cap now applies on the amount of superannuation savings you can transfer into retirement phase. Since 1 July 2017, you cannot transfer more than $1.6 million (general transfer balance cap), per individual, into retirement phase. As a couple, it is possible to have 2 separate pension accounts of up ... Read more
Retirement income: Living on more than $60,000 a year
Note: This article is updated every 6 months with the latest lifestyle/income data. The most recent data was released in August 2018 (for lifestyle costs up to June 2018) and includes Age Pension rates (applicable from 20 September 2018). The tables in this article list lump sums needed to finance a retirement of 25 ... Read more
Reality check: How much does it cost to live in retirement?
We all have expectations about what our retirement will look like in terms of lifestyle, but how does retirement actually pan out for those living in retirement? SuperGuide regularly publishes articles and reckoners on the lump sums necessary on retirement to live your desired lifestyle, and we also publish articles on ... Read more
How much super do you need to retire comfortably?
What can you expect to discover by reading this article? The article outlines how much money you will need to finance a retirement of 25 years, regardless of whether you retire at Age Pension age (65.5 years to 67 years) or even age 70. Due to reader demand, we list the lump sums needed on retirement if your ... Read more
Retirement income: Want to live on $100,000 a year?
We receive many questions from readers, and some of those questions relate to how much money is needed to create a comfortable life in retirement. At SuperGuide, we regularly update our ‘how much super is enough’ articles and these articles cover scenarios for those seeking modest, comfortable or more luxurious ... Read more
Latest Age Pension rates (since September 2018)
Note: This article explains the latest Age Pension rates, applicable until 19 March 2019. The Age Pension rates are indexed twice-yearly, with the next adjustment taking effect from 20 March 2019. If you are seeking information on how the Age Pension rules work, see SuperGuide articles Australian Age Pension: Am I ... Read more
Age Pension: Assets test thresholds applicable since September 2018
Note: This article explains the latest Age Pension assets test thresholds for FULL Age Pension (applicable from 1 July 2018 until 30 June 2019) and for PART Age Pension (applicable from 20 September 2018 until 19 March 2019), and also earlier thresholds (including from 1 July 2018 until 19 September 2018, and 20 March ... Read more
