{"id":102419,"date":"2025-03-12T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/?p=102419"},"modified":"2025-03-12T12:54:25","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T01:54:25","slug":"australias-age-pension-rate-increases-this-march-find-out-how-much-youll-get","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/australias-age-pension-rate-increases-this-march-find-out-how-much-youll-get\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s Age Pension Rate Increases This March: Find Out How Much You\u2019ll Get!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Australian government has announced that the <strong>age pension<\/strong> and eligibility criteria for <strong>part pensions<\/strong> will be updated, effective 20 <strong>March<\/strong>. This adjustment includes an increase in the <strong>base age pension rate<\/strong> as well as an upward revision of the income and asset limits for those eligible for a part pension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Much Will the <strong>Age Pension<\/strong> Increase?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Starting <strong>20 March,<\/strong> <strong>single age pensioners<\/strong> will receive an extra $4.20 per fortnight, increasing the <strong>base rate<\/strong> to $1,051.30 per fortnight. <strong>Couples<\/strong> will receive an additional $3.20 per person per fortnight, raising their base rate to $792.50 per partner per fortnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For those eligible for the <strong>supplement payment<\/strong> and the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/energy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">energy<\/a> <\/strong>supplement, the total payment will increase. <strong>Single pensioners<\/strong> will now receive $1,149 per fortnight, while <strong>couples<\/strong> eligible for these supplements will receive $866.10 per partner per fortnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Eligibility and <strong>Asset Test<\/strong> Changes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dss.gov.au\/income-support-payments\/resource\/indexation-rates-march-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">As part of the indexation changes<\/a>, the <strong>asset limits<\/strong> for a part pension will rise slightly. <strong>Single homeowners<\/strong> who have assets greater than $314,000 but less than $695,500 will now be able to qualify for a <strong>part pension<\/strong> up to an upper asset limit of $697,000. <strong>Non-homeowners<\/strong> will see their asset limit increase from $947,500 to $949,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Couple homeowners<\/strong>, whose assets exceed $470,000 but fall below $1,045,500, will now be eligible for a part pension up to $1,047,500 in assets. Similarly, <strong>couple non-homeowners<\/strong> will be able to own assets worth up to $1,299,500, a rise from the previous limit of $1,297,500.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s important to note that the value of the <strong>home<\/strong> is not included in the <strong>asset test<\/strong>. Additionally, for <strong>non-homeowners<\/strong>, the allowable asset limits are higher, which offers some financial flexibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Income Test<\/strong> Changes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Australians in retirement must meet <strong>income limits<\/strong> to qualify for the <strong>full or part age pension<\/strong>. For a full <strong>age pension<\/strong>, the income limits will remain unchanged until 30 June. However, for those qualifying for a part pension, the income limits will increase starting 20 <strong>March<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Single pensioners will now be able to earn up to $2,510 per fortnight, an increase of $9.20 from the previous limit of $2,500. For <strong>couples<\/strong>, the new combined <strong>income cap<\/strong> to qualify for a <strong>part pension<\/strong> will rise to $3,836.40 per fortnight from $3,822.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Single pensioners earning more than $212 but less than $2,510 per fortnight will now be eligible for a <strong>part pension<\/strong>, while couples with a combined <strong>income<\/strong> of more than $372 but less than $3,836.40 will also qualify for a part pension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Impact on <strong>Pensioners<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>These changes are designed to support pensioners as they navigate the rising cost of living. The <strong>age pension asset<\/strong> and <strong>income thresholds<\/strong> have been adjusted to ensure that those on the age pension or receiving a part pension are better equipped to manage their financial situation in <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/retirement\/\">retirement<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The increases in both the <strong>age pension base rate<\/strong> and the <strong>asset\/income limits<\/strong> for part pensions will benefit thousands of Australians in retirement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the full <strong>age pension eligibility<\/strong> criteria will remain the same until 30 June, the changes for <strong>part pension<\/strong> eligibility open up greater opportunities for those whose <strong>assets<\/strong> and <strong>income levels<\/strong> are close to the eligibility cut-offs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A significant update to the age pension rates and eligibility criteria is coming this March. Income and asset limits for part pensioners will also see slight increases.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":102426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retirement","category-social-welfare","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102419"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102427,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102419\/revisions\/102427"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}