When you mention super, most people shake their head and mutter about the constant rule changes. Looking back over the past few years it’s a fair comment, with many significant changes occurring – and many more proposed but never legislated. If you are wondering how those changes have affected your super and ... Read more
Age Pension
A Super Guide
The Age Pension eligibility age in Australia is currently 65 year and 6 months. This age will progressively increase in six month increments until it reaches the age of 67 for all Australians by 1 July 2023.
In addition to the age requirement, your eligibility for the Age Pension depends on you:
- Being able to satisfy the Age Pension assets test,
- Being able to satisfy the Age Pension income test, and
- Meeting Australian residency requirements.
You will be eligible to receive either a full or part Age Pension provided your assets or income don’t exceed the thresholds of the respective tests, and you also satisfy both the age and Australian residency requirements. It’s important to understand that your super may be included in both your asset and income tests, and can therefore affect your potential Age Pension eligibility.
It’s possible to earn up to earn up to $250 per fortnight from paid employment without this amount being included in your Age Pension income test. This is known as the work bonus.
Age Pension rates for singles and couples (married or de facto) are adjusted very six months based on changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), Male Total Average Weekly Earnings, and the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index.
Learn about the key aspects of the Age Pension in the following SuperGuide articles:
Set out below are all SuperGuide articles that relate to Age Pension.
Means test treatment of lifetime annuities from 1 July 2019
From 1 July 2019 changes to the means test treatment of lifetime annuities for the purposes of determining Age Pension entitlements will come into force. These changes were announced in the 2018 Budget and followed a review by the Department of Social Security (DSS). The changes will be grandfathered so that the new ... Read more
What is the DVA (Department of Veterans’ Affairs) Service Pension?
A Service Pension is payable to you if you’re a member of the Australian Defence Force (the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force) and you: have had active military service, are over the age of 60 or are an invalid, satisfy residency requirements, and pass both income and assets ... Read more
What is the Pension Loans Scheme, and how does it work?
From 1 July 2019, retirees looking for new ways to boost their retirement income or pay for expenses like home care have another option open to them following some big changes to the federal government’s Pension Loans Scheme (PLS). Although the PLS has been around for about 30 years, few retirees know about it and even ... Read more
What are the super and Age Pension rules for same-sex couples?
Australia has seen some momentous changes when it comes to the recognition of same-sex relationships in recent years, with the passage of the same-sex marriage legislation in December 2017 marking one of the most significant milestones. The new legislation has had less impact when it comes to super than in many other ... Read more
How much super do I need to retire?
No doubt you have heard people say you need a million dollars (or some other nice round figure) in superannuation before you can afford to retire. Often they are the same people trying to sell you investment products or advice. Don’t pay attention to them, because there is no magic number. The amount of super YOU need ... Read more
How much super do I need to retire on $60,000 a year?
It’s fair to assume that the average Australian might hope to live comfortably, if not lavishly, in retirement. The widely-reported ASFA Retirement standard suggests couples can enjoy a ‘comfortable lifestyle’ on just over $60,000 a year. It stands to reason then that a single person should be able to live more than ... Read more
How much super do I need to retire on $80,000 a year?
So, you’ve done some preliminary sums and think you will need around $80,000 a year to live well in retirement. The ASFA Retirement standard suggests couples can enjoy a ‘comfortable lifestyle’ on around $60,000 a year and singles on about $43,000 a year. By this yardstick, $80,000 a year should support a more than ... Read more
Over age 60? A simple tax guide to accessing your super benefits
When it comes to the super system, reaching age 60 triggers an important change. It means you can withdraw you super benefits and most people pay no tax on their savings. This represents a big change from the tax position if you withdraw your benefits before age 60 where tax is payable on some parts of your super ... Read more
How much super do I need to retire on $100,000 a year?
If you have always earned a high income and enjoyed the lifestyle that comes with it, chances are you want to continue living in the style to which you have become accustomed once you retire. The widely-reported ASFA Retirement standard suggests couples can enjoy a ‘comfortable lifestyle’ on just over $60,000 a year ... Read more
Is $500,000 in super enough to retire on?
According to the ASFA Retirement Standard, a couple can live a ‘comfortable lifestyle’ with a retirement balance of $640,000 while singles can enjoy the same with $545,000. But these are guidelines only. Depending on your personal circumstances, you might live comfortably on less especially if you are not keen on ... Read more
Is $750,000 in super enough to retire on?
A million dollars is often bandied about as the gold standard of retirement savings, but it is a suspiciously round number. Depending on your personal circumstances, you might live well on much less, say $750,000, especially if you are not a big traveller or you intend to continue working well into your 70s. We’ve ... Read more
Is $1 million in super enough to retire on?
A million dollars is often bandied about as the gold standard of retirement savings. It certainly sounds like a lot of money, but is it enough to retire on not just comfortably but in style? We decided to answer the million-dollar question. Using MoneySmart’s Retirement Planner we have calculated how much income $1 ... Read more
Is $1.6 million in super enough to retire on?
Since 1 July 2017 there has been a $1.6 million limit on the amount you can transfer into a super account in pension phase. The question is, is this an arbitrary figure dreamed up by bureaucrats or is it enough for a dream retirement? The $1.6 million balance transfer cap applies to individuals, which means a couple ... Read more
Is $2 million in super enough to retire on?
A million dollars is often cited as the gold standard of retirement savings. It certainly sounds like a lot of money, but it may not provide the income you require if you are a couple or if one of you has high healthcare needs. So we’ve decided to test run some higher retirement balances to help guide your planning, in ... Read more