SuperGuide

Simple superannuation and retirement planning information

Age Pension age

Age Pension age is the age at which an Australian can claim the Age Pension, subject to meeting the other Age Pension rules. Australians retiring today can access the Age Pension from age 65 (for men) and since July 2013, from age 65 for women. The Age Pension age for women used to be 60 years but has steadily increased to 65 years, in line with the Age Pension age for men.

The Age Pension age has also risen for Australians born after a certain date.

For anyone born after June 1952, your Age Pension age will be older than 65 years. (The Age Pension age will remain at 65 for anyone born before July 1952.) If you were born after June 1952, then your Age Pension age depends on your specific date of birth.

The first shift upwards in Age Pension age will occur in July 2017 when the eligibility age increases to 65.5 years (for Australians born on or after 1 July 1952 and before January 1953), and then in six-month increments every 2 years, until it reaches the age of 67 years from 1 July 2023.

Note: The Liberal government wanted to increase Age Pension age to 70 years but has received no support from the ALP opposition or the minority parties. The Liberal government intended to increase the Age pension age in six-month increments (every 18 months) from July 2017, until it reached the age of 70 years from 1 July 2035.

For more specific information on your Age Pension age, see SuperGuide article Age Pension age increasing to 67 years (not 70 years).

Set out below are all SuperGuide articles referring to Age Pension age.

Age Pension: Are you eligible for the Work Bonus?

by 2 Comments

If you choose to work while receiving the Age Pension, then you will be entitled to a Work Bonus. The Work Bonus operates so that the first $250 of employment income each fortnight is not counted towards the Age Pension income test. The Age Pension income test is one of 2 tests used to decide if you’re eligible for a ... Read more

Retirement income: Want to live on $100,000 a year?

by 2 Comments

We receive hundreds of questions each week 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 ... Read more

The super challenge: At what age should I retire?

by Leave a Comment

Selecting a retirement age, even if you plan to continue some form of work during retirement, can be a difficult decision. In some cases, individuals don’t get a choice about when to retire due to health issues, or due to redundancy in later years and then difficulty finding another job.Although life after work is ... Read more

What assets count for the Age Pension assets test?

by Leave a Comment

The Age Pension assets test is one of the tests that you must pass if you plan to claim the Age Pension. The Age Pension assets test involves 2 main thresholds, with the lower assets threshold determining if you will receive the FULL Age Pension and the higher assets threshold determining if you will receive the PART ... Read more

Australia not ready for Age Pension age of 70 years

by 5 Comments

The capacity of developed nations around the world to provide a decent taxpayer-funded old Age Pension is being tested constantly with increasing life expectancies, escalating health costs, mind-boggling energy costs, and in many cases, shrinking populations.Although Australia is fortunate (in economic terms) to ... Read more