Biggest increase in nine years
The March 20 Age Pension increases have been announced, with the highest increase for nine years soon to hit retirees’ pay packets.
Current inflationary tendencies have had a marked impact on the rate of the Age Pension with singles base and supplements increasing by over $20 a fortnight and couples joint pension increasing by more than $30 a fortnight.
The asset and income test thresholds have also increased which will mean some people that previously narrowly missed qualifying for the Age Pension may now find they will qualify from March 20th.
The disqualifying (upper) income limits have increased
- by $40.20 a fortnight to $2,155.20 for a single person
- by $50.40 a fortnight to $3,297.60 for a couple
The disqualifying (upper) asset test limits have increased
- by $6,750 for a single person
- by $10,000 for a couple
A top-level summary of the rate changes is in the table below.
The full annual pension rate for a single person will be $25,677.60 and a couple combined will be $38,708.80 from March 20.
What does this mean for you?
If you have already qualified for a full Age Pension, you will receive the full increases.
If you have already qualified for a part Age Pension, you may be entitled to a higher base rate, as well as the increases, due to income or asset threshold changes.
If you have previously missed out on qualifying, you may now qualify, due to one or both of the threshold changes.
Whichever situation applies to you, why not visit Retirement Essentials’ Age Pension Eligibility Calculator to check your revised entitlements? We will update all new rates and thresholds on Friday March 18. And keep an eye out for next week’s special enews edition when we will report more fully on these changes and what they mean for different retirement households.
| Single (per fortnight) | Pre 20 March | 20 March 2022 | Increase (per fortnight) |
| Base | $882.20 | $900.80 | $18.60 |
| Supplement | $ 71.20 | $ 72.70 | $ 1.50 |
| Energy Supplement | $ 14.10 | $ 14.10 | $0 |
| Total | $967.50 | $987.60 | $20.10 |
| Partnered (each – per fortnight) | Pre 20 March | 20 March 2022 | Increase (per fortnight) |
| Base | $665.00 | $679.00 | $14.00 |
| Supplement | $ 53.70 | $ 54.80 | $ 1.10 |
| Energy Supplement | $ 10.60 | $ 10.60 | $0 |
| Total | $729.30 | $744.40 | $15.10 |
very good information thats not normally handed out buy social security
I think something is wrong with your figures. How can the Partnered fortnightly pension be less than the single rate?
Hi Michelle. The partnered rates are what each member of the couple receives. Per person they receive less than a single pensioner but the total for a couple is more.
It is per person
My rent is $520 a fortnight, basically 50% of my Aged Pension. What amount of Rent Assistance am I entitled to?
Hi Benjamin, thanks for getting involved with the conversation! If you provide Centrelink with a copy of your most recent rental/lease agreement they can review your rent assistance and see if you are entitled to more. It might be a good idea to provide Centrelink with updated balances for your assets such as bank accounts, cars/caravans etc. as they may have depreciated over time and mean even if your rent assistance is already at the maximum your Age Pension may be able to be increased.
Hi is any increas for DSP
Thanks
Hi Nada, great question! Yes the Disability Support Pension is also being increased.
We are self funded retirees who receive virtually NO assistance in regard to some minor financial assistance by way of Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. Can you please advise what the new asset test limits are for a couple?
Hi Jeff, there are changes coming this Sunday so keep an eye on your email inbox and we’ll soo be sending you an article that covers the new thresholds.
Assets test or more correctly the way in which Services Australia “interpret” income and assets to calculate entitlement and rate for an Aged Pension is difficult to accept. For example an otherwise eligible person may be excluded from entitlement simply because during their working life through hard work and diligence they managed to acquire all the good thigs in life. Many if not all of those assets provide no income or financial benefit to prospective aged pension recipient but are never the less “assessed” on a whole of the bucket basis to calculate the pension, Surely if an asset is inanimate and also diminishing in real time value, that “asset”[s] should have no bearing on a persons entitlement to a pension. Items such a motor vehicles and other household goods bought to enhance a persons quality of life should not be used to diminish entitlement. If on the other hand the asset is income producing that is another story given the potential for double dipping.
Robert Harris, I agree with what you say 100%. The government has certainly made sure to keep us in poverty. I too have worked all my life and paid my taxes without question, now I am on a part pension due to assets which cost me money to have yet that is not calculated in my pension rate. The asset is a block of bush land which I bought in my very early years. It has been calculated as a asset without even regarding what it costs to maintain as well as council rates which go up every year. It has been valued and deemed by the government which has taken me over the threshold of allowable asset value. Before the pension due to my age I was on job seeker but had no luck finding new employment due to my age. The age pension allows you a income of I think it is approx. $80 or $90.00 week for single pensioner, that’s ok but not all of us are lucky enough to find employment at our age. If we cannot find work then it is no fault of our own as age is against us. I don’t care what anyone says, there are not many employers will to hire someone over the age of 60 years. In fairness I think you should still be entitled to the income threshold when on the age pension. The whole pension fairness needs to change and get the elderly off the poverty line. It’s a disgrace to the Government of this country to not look after the elderly properly.
Robert is absolutely on the the money. The whole process of age pension application is convoluted and designed to dissuade people from claiming for an age pension for which they are rightfully deserving.
Hopefully a Labor Party politician will take note of these conversations
and raise the issue in Canberra.
Always remember – Scott Morrison/Liberal Govt described aged pensioners as a “burden”.
Always remember – Scott Morrison has stated that age pensioners who own their home will be forced to use the home to fund their pension. The govt will own/sell the family home to repay the age pension “loan”
Among OECD countries Australia rates second highest for number of age pensioners living in poverty
Just checking when Centrelink reviews your cash/income assets and increases your pension
eg If your cash reduces over say 12mths and the deeming amount lowers,
when will your pension increase?
Great question Janis! Centrelink rely on each person to update their asset values, particularly for bank accounts and motor vehicles. Centrelink do not receive updates from your bank or presume depreciation of assets. Therefore it is best for you to proactively update Centrelink of any changes in the value of your assets as soon/often as is practical for you to do so and then Centrelink can adjust your pension accordingly. The only assets Centrelink are kept updated on is superannuation accounts held through a mainstream fund. Anyone who has a Self-Managed Super Fund will need to update Centrelink themselves.
I am working for 20 years as personal care in clinic and I do not have increased pay for many years,EBA runs out two years ago.I have $26 per hour.I been Union member before,did not help.Who can help me to make company doing legal action
I need to report my income and working hours, (currently only 3 hours a week) to Centrelink for calculation of my husbands age pension. I have now reverted to LSL providing me the same weekly income and hours.
Are LSL payments treated differently by Centrelink in the calculation of my husbands pension? To me I assume no differently as I still record 3 hours and the same $income per week.
Hi Marina, thanks for reaching out! You are correct in that leave needs to be reported and is assessed as income, always good to double check though.
after fifty years of working paying my taxes and finally retiring can someone please explain to me why i am only entitled to part pension , my wife is to young to get the aged pension and is unable to work due to medical reasons yet she is not entitled to an invalid pension
Hi Harold, thank you for reaching out for help maximising your entitlements. For you and anyone else who would like to have a discussion with someone they can trust about your situation and potential options we do offer financial advice consultations.
Our financial advice consultations are designed to help you better understand your needs and goals in retirement and some of the actions you can consider to help you achieve those goals. So even if you are not eligible for an Age Pension we can help with other ways to make your money last longer and work harder for you. The consultation is online, goes for up to 45 minutes and costs $150.
CLICK HERE to book now.
Not Acceptable
couples are STILL being discriminated against household costs are doubled electricity, water, food, etc
We are on a part pension and find it very difficult. I agree all that Rose has written.
With increases in rates, power, water, licenses, insurances for house, house contents, car, Healthcare, plus low interest rates, and replacements of aging electrical and furniture items, Not only that but we live out of town and the cost of petrol these days will make us think twice about going out and preventing us from enjoying outings such as meeting with friends and playing sport. This will probably lead us down the path of ill health. Yes, I must ad that we pensioners have worked hard for years and contributed much in the way of rates and taxes over the years and for WHAT? Certainly for very little!
Hello. My only financial assets are a term deposit, for which I only get 0.3% interest. From wh!! I will also withdraw $5000 from this amount for 2022-23 living costs. Centrelink deems this amount to be giving me a profit!! Can I apply for increase in pension because of the worsening interest in my savings? Thank you.
Hi Judith, thank you for reaching out for help planning your finances. Your pension is not able to be increased simply because you are not earning as much interest as Centrelink deems however as you spend the money on living expenses you can then show that you have less total funds available and have your pension re-assessed.
You might also benefit from one of our financial advice consultations.
We may be able to help you make your money work harder for you than it currently is without jeopardising your Centrelink entitlements. The consultation can be either online or via a phone call, goes for up to 45 minutes and costs $150.
CLICK HERE to book now.
Hello Steve, Would you kindly outline the allowable income weekly/monthly and annually for a single person.Is it possible to spread that income over 12 months if you only work lets say 9 months per annum.What are the reporting requirement if you are under the threshold or even above it.In other words has this changed recently?
HI Richard, if you keep an eye out we will be doing an article next week discussing the changes to the thresholds. You will receive an email from us when it is live.
I understand there is a deeming rate for those on defined benefit schemes ie govt employees. Can you explain how that works?
Hi Russell, thanks for getting involved in the conversation. Deeming only applies to assets that earn you a financial return such as bank accounts (interest earned) or shares (dividend payments), but not income. Defined benefits are assessed as income not an asset so deeming does not apply.
Does this indicate that the energy supplement is gone?
If so, it leaves a very miserable increase
Hi Anne, always good to double check but no the energy supplement is not gone, it just isn’t being altered as part of these changes.
My wife and myself are on the full pension. Can you indicate the maximum amount of money we may have in bank accounts to maintain this pension amount.
We are in a Retirement Village.
Hi Glen, you will be assessed as a couple who are home-owners, therefore as soon as your assets exceed $405,000 then you pension would reduce by $3 for every $1,000 you are over.
My husband and I are both receiving part pensions which we supplement from his Account based super pension. What are the benefits if I convert my own super to an ABP. I’m over 67.
Hi Myra, thank you for reaching out for help planning your retirement income. For you and anyone else who would like to have a discussion with someone they can trust about your super and the pros/cons of the different options available to you we do offer financial advice consultations.
Our financial advice consultations are designed to help you better understand your needs and goals in retirement and some of the actions you can consider to help you achieve those goals. The consultation can be either online or via phone call, goes for up to 45 minutes and costs $150.
CLICK HERE to book now.
Thanks for sharing this helpful blog with us.
Hi, I am aware of an individuals responsibility to update asset values/depreciation and bank account balances either as significant ones occur or occasionally in order to keep your pension as correct as possible.
What I would like to know is when exactly does Centrelink access and update the Superannuation and/or Account Based Pension balances. I have March and September in my mind, is that correct?
Thanks
Marina
Hi Marina, thanks for getting involved in the conversation. You are correct that it is in March and September.