Couple Homeowner Age Pension: What $600k in Assets Actually Pays You Each Fortnight
A homeowner couple with $600,000 in assessable assets sits above the $481,500 full-pension free area, so the assets test trims their payment. At $3 per fortnight for every $1,000 over the threshold, they lose about $355.50 a fortnight — taking the combined maximum of $1,810.40 down to roughly $1,454.90 a fortnight (about $891.10 each), assuming the income test doesn't bite harder. Here is exactly how that calculation works, and where the part pension disappears entirely.
The two numbers that decide everything
For a homeowner couple, the Age Pension hinges on two figures, both effective from 20 March 2026:
- The combined maximum: $1,810.40 per fortnight — that's $905.20 each, and it already bundles the base rate, the maximum Pension Supplement and the Energy Supplement together.
- The assets free area for a homeowner couple: $481,500. Below this, the assets test does not reduce your pension at all (the income test still applies separately).
Once your combined assessable assets climb above $481,500, Centrelink reduces the combined fortnightly payment by $3.00 for every $1,000 over that line. That is the assets taper. The same $3/$1,000 rate applies whether you are single or a couple — but the threshold and the dollar amount you are tapering down from differ. (Source: Services Australia — Assets test for Age Pension.)
Meet David and Linh. Both 67, both homeowners (their house and the land it sits on don't count — more on that below), living in Brisbane. Their assessable assets total $600,000: $180,000 in super in account-based pensions, $290,000 in a term deposit and bank savings, $95,000 in shares, and $35,000 in a car, caravan and home contents at second-hand value.
Step 1 — find how far they're over the free area.
$600,000 − $481,500 = $118,500 above the homeowner-couple free area.
Step 2 — convert to "thousands" for the taper.
$118,500 ÷ $1,000 = 118.5 increments of $1,000.
Step 3 — apply the $3 per $1,000 taper.
118.5 × $3.00 = $355.50 reduction per fortnight (combined).
Step 4 — subtract from the combined maximum.
$1,810.40 − $355.50 = $1,454.90 per fortnight combined, or about $727.45 each as a couple's individual share.
Over a year that's roughly $37,827 between them — versus the $47,070 a year a couple on the full pension receives. Their $118,500 of "extra" assets has cost them about $9,243 a year in pension. This assumes their income from those assets, once deemed, stays under the income-test limit so the assets test is the binding test. We check that next.
Why both tests run — and only the worse result counts
Centrelink runs two means tests every fortnight: the assets test and the income test. It calculates your entitlement under each, then pays you the lower of the two. You don't add them together; the test that produces the smaller pension is the one that "binds."
The income test has its own free area: a homeowner couple can earn up to $380 per fortnight combined before their pension reduces, and above that the payment drops by 50 cents in the dollar of combined income — the 50c taper split across both partners (Source: Services Australia — Income test for Age Pension). Crucially, financial assets like David and Linh's bank savings, term deposit and shares are deemed to earn a set rate of return rather than counted on actual earnings.
David and Linh, continued — the income-test check. Their financial assets (super in pension phase, term deposit, bank savings and shares) come to about $565,000. Under deeming, Centrelink treats those financial assets as earning a low rate on the first slice of the balance and a higher rate above the couple's deeming threshold — not their actual interest and dividends.
Run the numbers on deemed income and their combined deemed amount lands well under the point where the income test would reduce their pension below $1,454.90. Because the assets test produces the smaller pension here, the assets test wins and David and Linh are paid $1,454.90 a fortnight combined. If, instead, they'd had far less in assets but a large defined-benefit income stream, the income test could have been the binding test. Always confirm the current deeming rates on the official page before relying on a deemed-income figure — they change. (Source: Services Australia — Deeming.)
Why couples are assessed jointly — even if only one has reached pension age
This is the part that surprises people most. If you're a member of a couple, Centrelink combines both partners' income and both partners' assets — including the assets and income of a partner who is younger and hasn't yet reached Age Pension age (currently 67).
So if David is 67 and applies, but Linh is 64 and still working, Linh's salary and Linh's super balance still count toward the household totals. The thresholds used are the couple thresholds ($481,500 free area, $380/ft income free area), and the person who has reached pension age receives the partnered rate — $905.20 a fortnight maximum, not the higher single rate of $1,200.10. Services Australia is explicit that the assets limit "is for both your and your partner's assets combined, not each of you" (Source: Services Australia — Assets test for Age Pension).
The logic: the pension is a household safety net, so a couple's combined resources determine need. The practical sting is that a younger working partner's income and super can reduce or wipe out the older partner's pension entirely.
Where the pension disappears: the $1,085,000 cut-off
Keep tapering at $3/$1,000 and eventually the reduction swallows the whole combined maximum. For a homeowner couple from 20 March 2026, the assets cut-off is $1,085,000. At or above that, no part pension is payable under the assets test.
The cut-off, proved arithmetically. Start at the free area and ask how much "extra" assets it takes to erase the full combined maximum:
Step 1. Combined maximum to erase: $1,810.40 per fortnight.
Step 2. Each $1,000 of extra assets removes $3.00. So the assets needed above the free area: $1,810.40 ÷ $3.00 = 603.47 thousands → about $603,467.
Step 3. Add that to the free area: $481,500 + $603,467 ≈ $1,085,000.
That's why a homeowner couple with $1,085,000 or more in assessable assets receives nothing under the assets test. A couple just below it — say $1,080,000 — receives only a sliver: ($1,080,000 − $481,500) = $598,500 over → 598.5 × $3 = $1,795.50 reduction → just $14.90 a fortnight combined. The official cut-off figure is confirmed by Services Australia's assets test page and the 20 March 2026 rate update.
The full picture at a glance
| Combined assessable assets (homeowner couple) | Assets over $481,500 | Fortnightly reduction | Combined pension/ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| $481,500 or less | $0 | $0 | $1,810.40 (full) |
| $600,000 | $118,500 | $355.50 | $1,454.90 |
| $750,000 | $268,500 | $805.50 | $1,004.90 |
| $900,000 | $418,500 | $1,255.50 | $554.90 |
| $1,080,000 | $598,500 | $1,795.50 | $14.90 |
| $1,085,000 or more | $603,500+ | ≥ $1,810.40 | $0 (cut off) |
Figures assume the assets test is the binding test and use the combined maximum of $1,810.40/ft effective 20 March 2026. Your actual payment is the lower of the assets-test and income-test results. Rates and thresholds are indexed and change in March and September each year.
What the family home does (and doesn't) do here
"Homeowner" status matters twice. First, the value of your principal home is not an assessable asset — David and Linh's house never enters the $600,000. Second, homeowners get a lower free area than non-homeowners, because non-homeowners are assumed to need cash for rent. A non-homeowner couple's free area is materially higher than $481,500, so the same $600,000 of assets would reduce a renting couple's pension less. Check your category on the official assets test page (Source: Services Australia).
- Combined max is $1,810.40/ft ($905.20 each) from 20 March 2026 — base rate plus Pension and Energy supplements bundled.
- $481,500 is the homeowner-couple assets free area; below it, the assets test takes nothing.
- $600,000 in assets → $118,500 over → $355.50/ft reduction → about $1,454.90/ft combined if assets is the binding test.
- $1,085,000 is the homeowner-couple cut-off — at or above it, no Age Pension under the assets test.
- Taper: $3 per $1,000 of assets over the free area; the income test runs in parallel with a $380/ft couple free area and a 50c-in-the-dollar taper, and Centrelink pays the lower result.
- Couples are assessed jointly — a younger, working, under-67 partner's income and super still count.
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Frequently asked questions
What does a homeowner couple with $600,000 in assets actually get?
About $1,454.90 per fortnight combined (roughly $727.45 each as a household share), assuming the assets test is the binding test. That's the $1,810.40 combined maximum reduced by $355.50 — which is $3 for every $1,000 of the $118,500 by which $600,000 exceeds the $481,500 free area.
Why is the couple maximum $905.20 each and not the single rate?
Couples receive the partnered rate, which is lower per person than the single rate because two people sharing a household have lower per-person living costs. Each partner of pension age gets up to $905.20 a fortnight (combined $1,810.40), versus the single maximum of $1,200.10. Confirm current rates on Services Australia's "How much Age Pension you can get" page.
At what level of assets does a homeowner couple lose the Age Pension entirely?
$1,085,000 in combined assessable assets, effective 20 March 2026. It takes about $603,467 of assets above the $481,500 free area to erase the full $1,810.40 maximum at the $3/$1,000 taper, and $481,500 + $603,467 ≈ $1,085,000.
My partner is 64 and still working. Does their income count?
Yes. Centrelink assesses couples jointly. Even though your partner hasn't reached Age Pension age, their income and assets are combined with yours, the couple thresholds apply ($481,500 assets free area, $380/ft income free area), and the working partner's salary and super can reduce or eliminate your payment.
Does the family home count toward the $600,000?
No. Your principal home and the land it sits on are exempt from the assets test. That's why these examples count super, cash, shares and personal effects but not the house. Being a homeowner does, however, give you a lower assets free area than a renter.
How is the income from our savings and shares counted?
Through deeming. Centrelink applies a set deeming rate to your financial assets to calculate "deemed income" rather than counting your actual interest and dividends. That deemed income feeds the income test, which runs alongside the assets test — and you're paid whichever test gives the lower result. Always check the current deeming rates, which change periodically.