Pension Rates

Around 3.6 million pensioners receive one of the following payments:

  • Age Pension
  • Disability Support Pension1
  • Wife Pension
  • Widow B Pension
  • Carer Payment
  • Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) Service Pension
  • Income Support Supplement.

Please note that different arrangements apply to people living overseas.

Indexation

Base pensions are indexed twice a year, in March and September, to reflect changes in pensioners’ cost of living and wages.  The pension is increased to reflect growth in the Consumer Price Index and the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index, whichever is higher.  When wages grow more quickly than prices, the pension is increased to the wages benchmark.  The wages benchmark sets the combined couple rate of pension at 41.76 per cent of Male Total Average Weekly Earnings.  The single rate of pension is two thirds of the couple rate.

Current rates

Adult Total Maximum Pension Rates at 20 March 2014
Single per fortnight
 base $ 766.00
 pension supplement $  62.90
 clean energy supplement $  13.90
 Total per fortnight $ 842.80
Partnered (ea) per fortnight
 base $ 577.40
 pension supplement $  47.40
 clean energy supplement $  10.50
 Total per fortnight $ 635.30

Note: The Clean Energy Supplement was introduced on 20 March 2013.

1Disability Support Pensioners under 21 without children continue to be paid at a rate that includes the equivalent to Youth Allowance rate, Youth Disability Supplement and Pharmaceutical Allowance. They also continue to be paid the Utilities Allowance and Telephone Allowance quarterly, if eligible.

 

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