With Centrelink Pension, the main income support payment for people who have reached Age Pension age. To get this you must be all of the following:
- Age Pension age
- under the income and assets test limits
- an Australian resident, normally for at least 10 years.
Who can get Centrelink Pension
To be eligible for Age Pension you must be Age Pension age and meet some other rules.
On 1 July 2021, Age Pension age increased to 66 years and 6 months for people born from 1 July 1955 to 31 December 1956, inclusive.
If your birthdate is on or after 1 January 1957, you’ll have to wait until you turn 67. This will be the Age Pension age from 1 July 2026.
Read more about Age Pension age requirements on the Department of Social Services website.
Other rules you need to meet
You also need to meet:
If you’re Age Pension age but don’t meet all the rules for Age Pension, you may be eligible for a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. This card can give you access to cheaper medicines and may provide other concessions.
How to prepare to claim Centrelink Pension
There are several things to consider when you’re preparing to claim Age Pension.
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Check if you can get it
You must be 66 years and 6 months or older to get Age Pension.
Check that you meet all the eligibility rules for Age Pension before you start your claim.
We use income and assets tests to work out if you’re eligible and how much you can get.
If you’re a member of a couple, it can affect your eligibility and how much you can get.
You must prove your identity before you can make a claim. We may ask you to bring some documents to a service centre, Agent or Access Point. If you’ve already proven your identity, you generally don’t need to do it again.
Use the support we offer
We offer support to help you with your claim.
If you’re not sure how your finances may affect your eligibility, use our Financial Information Service. It’s free, and can inform and educate you about financial matters.
Our Community Engagement Officers can help you access the services you need if you’re having a difficult time.
You may be able to get Carer Allowance as well as Age Pension. Carer Allowance is for people who give additional daily care to someone who has a disability, serious illness, or is frail aged.
In some situations, you can choose to get Carer Payment or Age Pension. Read more about payments for carers.
Consider whether you want someone to deal with us on your behalf. We can help you set up a nominee arrangement. You can authorise a person or organisation to enquire, act or get payments for you. This doesn’t prevent you from dealing with us yourself.
You can read about Age Pension in your own language. We also have other translated information to help you learn about our payments and services.
If you need to talk to someone in your language, you can use our qualified interpreters.
If you’ve lived outside Australia
You usually need to be an Australian resident and in Australia to claim Age Pension. However, social security agreements may help you claim if you’re living or have lived and worked in certain countries.
If you get Age Pension, you may need to take steps to claim a pension from another country. This is if you have lived or worked in a country other than Australia.
International Services can do both of the following:
- help you claim a pension from any country with a social security agreement with Australia
- advise on how to claim a pension from a country without an agreement.
Prepare your supporting information
To confirm what you tell us in your claim, we’ll ask you to provide supporting documents. Getting your documents ready will make it easier for you to claim Age Pension. The documents we need from you will depend on your circumstances.
If you claim online, we’ll give you a list of documents to submit with your claim. A paper claim has a checklist, to ensure you give us all the documents we ask for. This will help us assess your claim faster.
How to manage your payment
Your options and obligations for Age Pension.
There are a few things you need to tell us so we can pay you the right amount of Age Pension. You must tell us within 14 days if:
- your circumstances change
- you travel outside Australia
- you or your partner get income from employment.
You also need to tell us if you have financial investments.
You can authorise a person to handle things for you. Read more about getting someone to deal with us on your behalf.
To find more information about your payments, go to My payments in your Centrelink online account. There, you’ll be able to see information including how we work out your payment and how much we’ll pay you.