The summary tables below contain the following information on super taxes for over-60s: Table 1: Contributions taxes Table 2: Earnings taxes (accumulation phase) Table 3: Benefit payment taxes for over-60s (taxed funds). All super funds except certain public sector funds. Table 3 outlines the tax treatment ... 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.
Tax-free super for over-60s, except for some
If you withdraw your super benefits after you turn 60 years of age, you can expect to pay NO tax on those super benefit payments, unless you are a member of certain types of public sector super funds, or you receive defined benefit pension of more than $100,000 a year. Note: Since 1 July 2017, certain recipients of ... Read more
Age Pension: Is it alleviating poverty?
It’s been the foundation of Australia’s retirement system for more than one hundred years, and the Age Pension has undergone major policy reforms over the years to provide an income for retirees. The Age Pension was introduced in Australia in 1909 and it paid $1 per week, equivalent to $65 today, to men over 65 and ... Read more
The financial and health benefits of working into retirement
With each generation, Australians are living longer which is driving a desire, or need, to work for longer to ensure a more comfortable and financially secure retirement. The trend towards semi-retirement has a lot of benefits that extend beyond simply enjoying an ongoing income. While you’re still working, you ... Read more
Gender inequality in retirement income
Most people will have heard of the term ‘gender pay gap’ and be familiar with what that means but fewer will realise that this is a major cause of what’s known as the ‘gender super gap’. The gender super gap directly affects retirement income and while that gap between men and women is narrowing, policymakers have ... Read more
What are annuities, and will they work for me?
Annuities are relatively simple and secure financial products that provide a guaranteed pay cheque in retirement in return for investing a lump sum for the rest of your life, or for a specified period. Unlike account-based pensions, the returns from annuities are not reliant on movements in investment markets. ... Read more
Retirement: What types of superannuation pensions are available?
The most popular type of superannuation pension is an account-based pension, which is also the main type of super pension available to retirees. The technical term for a superannuation pension is a ‘complying pension’ (that is complying with the superannuation rules). ... Read more
Turning 65 and super: A Super Guide
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
Renters Beware: How the pension and super could leave you behind
By Rafal Chomik, UNSW How we fund retirement in an ageing century ought to worry all of us. But one group of us should be much more worried than the rest. In a new set of research briefs published by the Centre of Excellence of Population Ageing Research, we report that most people do well out of our ... Read more
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