The Age Pension is not one simple number.
For most people, the result depends on age, residency, homeowner status, couple status, assessable assets, deemed income, employment income, and other assessable income streams. The rule that matters is usually the one that reduces the pension the most.
Check eligibility pressureSee where pension starts to tighten
Use homeowner rulesThresholds change with home status
Handle couple logicSingles and couples differ
Compare the testsSee whether assets or income binds
Get your reportTurn this into your $29 estimate
Assets test
Your assessable assets are compared against homeowner and non-homeowner thresholds. Financial assets and other assessable assets are both relevant, but financial assets also feed the deeming calculation.
Income test
Assessable income can include deemed income on financial assets, work income after Work Bonus treatment, foreign pensions entered as AUD-equivalent estimates, and other assessable income sources.
What is often misunderstood
Super held by a younger spouse below Age Pension age can be treated differently from super already assessable for an older spouse. That can materially change mixed-age couple results.
What still needs checking
Foreign pension treatment, defined-benefit pensions, gifting, residency, illness-separated status, and some timing details can be nuanced. Pension Pilot surfaces those items rather than pretending they do not matter.
What Pension Pilot will explain clearly.
- Why the assets test or income test is binding in a given scenario.
- How homeowner status changes thresholds.
- Why couple treatment is not always as simple as halving everything.
- How deeming interacts with financial assets.
- How employment income and Work Bonus rules can affect the income test.
- Why younger-partner super may need special treatment in mixed-age couples.
- Why exact pension numbers should be treated as estimates until the underlying facts are confirmed.
Use this guide to prepare better pension questions.
Age Pension planning usually becomes clearer once the household can see the test that is doing the work. A good estimate should separate assets, deemed income, work income, couple rules and timing assumptions, then flag what needs official confirmation.
- Check whether homeowner status is being applied consistently.
- Separate financial assets from other assessable assets.
- Make mixed-age couple assumptions visible before relying on the number.
- Carry the pension estimate into a full retirement income timeline.
Related retirement guides
- Super and retirement timing
- Bridge years before pension age
- Retirement income planning
- Deeming rates guide
- Pension Pilot vs a financial adviser
- Downsizing and the Age Pension
- Aged care planning basics
These pages connect the pension estimate to the bigger decision: how much income may be needed, when super may be drawn, and which assumptions should be reviewed before paying for a report or speaking with an adviser.
Worked examples: how the Age Pension changes by household.
The same income and assets can produce very different results depending on who holds them and how they’re structured. These are illustrative patterns, not personal advice — run your own numbers through the calculator for an estimate.
Single homeowner
Owns the home outright, holds savings and account-based super. The assets test usually binds first for this group once savings and super pass the single homeowner threshold, because the home itself isn’t counted. Deeming then sets the income-test result on financial assets, which is usually the smaller number.
Couple homeowner
Own the home, combined super and savings assessed together. Couples get a higher combined assets-test threshold than two singles added separately, so the income test is more likely to bind here — especially if one partner still has employment income tested under the Work Bonus rules.
Single renter
Doesn’t own a home, so the non-homeowner assets-test threshold applies — meaningfully higher than the homeowner threshold, since rent isn’t otherwise subsidised the way home ownership is. Rent Assistance can also apply on top of a part pension, which homeowners don’t receive.
Mixed-age couple
One partner is Age Pension age, the other isn’t. The younger partner’s super is usually exempt from the income and assets tests until they reach Age Pension age themselves, which can materially change the household result compared to a same-age couple holding identical total assets.
Couple with super and cash savings
Once both partners are over Age Pension age, account-based super and cash savings are both deemed and assessed the same way. The mix between the two doesn’t change the income-test result on its own — but moving money into exempt assets, or spending it down, can.
Age Pension questions people often bring to Pension Pilot.
What usually affects Age Pension estimates?
Age, residency, relationship status, homeowner status, assessable assets, deemed income, employment income and other assessable income can all affect an estimate.
Which pension test matters most?
The assets test and income test are both checked. The lower result after the relevant reductions is usually the one that applies.
Does Pension Pilot replace Services Australia?
No. Pension Pilot is educational and helps prepare better questions. Services Australia remains the official source for eligibility and payment decisions.
Go deeper on the parts that change the estimate.
Assets test calculator
Means test
Mixed-age couples
Asset types
Calculator versions: assets test calculator guide and income test calculator guide.
Need the broader calculator overview?
Read the Age Pension calculator Australia guide before going deeper into assets, income, deeming and couple edge cases.