Single Non-Homeowner Age Pension: Higher $579,500 Assets Limit Worked Through
If you are single and rent (rather than own your home), you can hold up to $579,500 in assessable assets and still get the full single Age Pension — $258,000 more than a homeowner’s $321,500 limit. On top of that, renters can collect up to $219.40 a fortnight in Rent Assistance. This guide works the numbers through with real examples at $400,000, $700,000 and the $980,000 cut-off.
Why renters get a higher assets limit
The Age Pension assets test sets a “free area” — the amount of assessable assets you can hold before your pension starts to reduce. Centrelink applies two different free areas depending on whether you own your home:
| Single person | Full-pension assets limit (free area) | Part-pension cut-off |
|---|---|---|
| Homeowner | $321,500 | $722,000 |
| Non-homeowner (renter) | $579,500 | $980,000 |
| The gap | +$258,000 | +$258,000 |
The logic is simple: a homeowner’s house is exempt from the assets test — it isn’t counted at all, no matter what it’s worth. A renter doesn’t have that exempt asset, so the rules add a flat $258,000 to the renter’s free area as a partial offset. It’s not meant to equal the value of a home; it’s a fixed recognition that renters carry their housing wealth as countable savings instead of as an exempt house. These figures apply from 20 March 2026 and are reviewed each March and September (Services Australia — Assets test for Age Pension).
Centrelink treats you as a non-homeowner if you don’t own the home you live in. Renting privately, renting from a relative, living in a retirement village where you don’t hold title, or boarding all generally count as non-homeowner. If you own a home but live elsewhere temporarily, special rules can apply — check with Centrelink before assuming your status.
How the assets test reduces your pension: the $3 per $1,000 taper
Once your assessable assets pass the free area, your pension reduces under the assets taper: $3 of pension per fortnight for every $1,000 of assets above the free area. That works out to $3,000 a year less pension for each extra $1,000 of assets — one of the steepest tapers in the system, which is why the assets test often (not always) decides a renter’s outcome.
The maximum single Age Pension from 20 March 2026 is $1,200.90 a fortnight, made up of:
| Component (single, max) | Per fortnight |
|---|---|
| Maximum base rate | $1,100.30 |
| Pension Supplement (max) | $86.50 |
| Energy Supplement | $14.10 |
| Total maximum single rate | $1,200.90 |
Source: Services Australia — How much Age Pension you can get. Rent Assistance (covered below) is paid on top of this.
Pam, 70, renting in Brisbane — $400,000 in assets. Pam sold her house years ago and rents a unit for $640 a fortnight. Her assessable assets are $400,000 (term deposits, shares and a car).
Step 1 — check against the free area. A single non-homeowner’s full-pension assets limit is $579,500. Pam’s $400,000 is comfortably under it, so the assets test does not reduce her pension at all.
Step 2 — full base pension. Pam qualifies for the full single rate of $1,200.90 a fortnight (assuming the income test doesn’t bite — her deemed income on $400,000 is well within the income free area).
Step 3 — add Rent Assistance. Her rent of $640/ft is well above the $154.80 threshold and above the $447.33 ceiling, so she gets the maximum Rent Assistance of $219.40 a fortnight.
Result: $1,200.90 + $219.40 = $1,420.30 a fortnight (about $36,928 a year), plus a Pensioner Concession Card.
The $700,000 example: part pension under the taper
Geoff, 68, renting on the Central Coast — $700,000 in assets. Geoff rents for $560 a fortnight and holds $700,000 in assessable assets.
Step 1 — assets over the free area. $700,000 − $579,500 = $120,500 above the single non-homeowner free area.
Step 2 — apply the taper. The taper rounds the excess down to the nearest $1,000, so $120,000 is counted. $120,000 ÷ $1,000 = 120 increments × $3 = $360 a fortnight reduction.
Step 3 — reduced base pension. $1,200.90 − $360.00 = $840.90 a fortnight of base pension.
Step 4 — add Rent Assistance. Rent Assistance is not cut by the assets taper. Geoff’s rent of $560/ft exceeds the ceiling, so he still receives the full $219.40.
Result: $840.90 + $219.40 = $1,060.30 a fortnight (about $27,568 a year). Even at $700,000 in assets, renting keeps Geoff on a meaningful part pension — a homeowner with the same $700,000 would be very close to losing the pension entirely.
Note: the figures above assume the assets test is the binding test. Centrelink runs both the income test and the assets test and pays whichever produces the lower pension. For most retirees holding cash, shares and super in this range, the assets test governs — but always check both (income test rules).
The $980,000 part-pension cut-off for single renters
Because the taper is $3 per $1,000, a part pension keeps shrinking as assets rise until it hits zero. For a single non-homeowner that happens at $980,000 in assessable assets — above that, no Age Pension is payable on the assets test.
You can sanity-check the cut-off: from the free area of $579,500, the base pension of $1,200.90/ft is exhausted after roughly $1,200.90 ÷ $3 × $1,000 = $400,300 of excess assets, i.e. around $579,500 + $400,300 = $979,800 — which Centrelink publishes as the rounded cut-off of $980,000 for 20 March 2026 (a single homeowner’s equivalent cut-off is $722,000, exactly $258,000 lower).
Sandra, 72, renting in Adelaide — $960,000 in assets. Just under the cut-off. Excess over the free area: $960,000 − $579,500 = $380,500, counted as $380,000. Taper: 380 × $3 = $1,140/ft reduction. Base pension: $1,200.90 − $1,140.00 = $60.90 a fortnight. Plus full Rent Assistance of $219.40 = $280.30 a fortnight. Even this thin part pension is valuable: it keeps her Pensioner Concession Card, which is often worth more than the cash. Push assets past $980,000 and both the cash pension and the card stop.
How Rent Assistance stacks on top of the base rate
Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) is a separate payment added to your pension if you pay private rent above a threshold. It is not reduced by the assets test — it’s a flat top-up that depends only on how much rent you pay. For a single person with no dependent children from 20 March 2026:
| Rent Assistance (single, no children) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Rent threshold (assistance starts above this) | $154.80 / fortnight |
| Rate paid above the threshold | 75c per $1 of rent |
| Maximum Rent Assistance | $219.40 / fortnight |
| Rent needed to reach the maximum | $447.33 / fortnight |
Source: Services Australia — How much Rent Assistance you can get.
How the 75-cent formula works
You get 75 cents for every dollar of rent above $154.80 a fortnight, up to the $219.40 cap. To hit the maximum you need rent of at least $154.80 + ($219.40 ÷ 0.75) = $154.80 + $292.53 = $447.33 a fortnight (about $223.67 a week). Most pensioners renting privately are well past that point and receive the full amount.
Partial Rent Assistance: Tom pays $300 a fortnight to board with family. Rent above threshold: $300 − $154.80 = $145.20. Rent Assistance: $145.20 × 0.75 = $108.90 a fortnight (he hasn’t reached the cap because his rent is below $447.33). Added to a full base pension of $1,200.90, Tom receives $1,309.80 a fortnight.
- A single non-homeowner can hold up to $579,500 in assets and still get the full pension — $258,000 more than a homeowner’s $321,500.
- Above the free area, the pension drops $3 per fortnight for every $1,000 of extra assets ($3,000/year per $1,000).
- The single non-homeowner part-pension cut-off is $980,000; above that, no Age Pension on the assets test.
- Rent Assistance (up to $219.40/ft) is paid on top of the pension and is not cut by the assets taper.
- Even a tiny part pension is worth claiming — it carries the Pensioner Concession Card.
- All figures are effective 20 March 2026 and are indexed every March and September.
Why is the non-homeowner assets limit higher than a homeowner’s?
A homeowner’s principal home is exempt from the assets test, so it’s never counted. Renters don’t have that exempt asset, so the rules add a fixed $258,000 to their free area ($321,500 vs $579,500 for singles) as a partial offset. It is a flat amount, not the value of a house.
If I have $400,000 and rent, do I get the full single pension?
Yes — $400,000 is below the $579,500 single non-homeowner free area, so the assets test doesn’t reduce your pension. You’d receive the full $1,200.90 a fortnight (subject to the income test) plus up to $219.40 in Rent Assistance, provided your income is also within limits.
At what asset level does a single renter lose the pension entirely?
At $980,000 in assessable assets, the part pension reaches zero under the $3 per $1,000 taper. Below that you still get a part pension, however small, plus the Pensioner Concession Card.
Does Rent Assistance count as income or get cut by the assets test?
No. Rent Assistance is a separate top-up added to your pension. It is not assessed as your income and is not reduced by the assets taper — it depends only on how much rent you pay. A part-pensioner can still receive the full $219.40.
How much rent do I need to pay to get the maximum Rent Assistance?
At least $447.33 a fortnight (about $223.67 a week) for a single person with no children. Rent Assistance pays 75 cents per dollar of rent above the $154.80 threshold, capped at $219.40 a fortnight.
Are these figures current, and where do they come from?
Yes — all figures are effective 20 March 2026, drawn from Services Australia (Assets test, How much Age Pension you can get, and How much Rent Assistance you can get). Rates are indexed each 20 March and 20 September, so confirm the current figures before relying on them.
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