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: Is it alleviating poverty?

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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

What is the retirement age in Australia?

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In Australia, there is no official retirement age but there are special rules that apply, which determine the age when you can withdraw your superannuation benefits (preservation age), and the age when you can claim the Age Pension (Age Pension age). You can discover your preservation age (for accessing your super ... Read more

The super challenge: At what age should I retire?

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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

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

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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

Age Pension: Dramatic changes over past 10 years

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In the past decade we have experienced many changes to the Age Pension rules. The most important and dramatic Age Pension changes that have taken place over the past 10 years or so are set out below. The eligibility tests have become a lot tougher, although the Age Pension rate continues to increase. The changes ... Read more

What assets count for the Age Pension assets test?

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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 two 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

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Russia has just raised the pension age for men to 65 years (from 60 years) and for women to 60 years (from 55 years). The original plan was to raise pension age for women to 63 years, but after national uproar, Vladimir Putin relented and only increased pension age for women to 60 years but still raised male pension ... Read more