Written

For

The

Australian

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The

best

path

to

tread

for

maximum

pension

access

Here's a number that might surprise you: the age pension cost taxpayers $52.5 billion last financial year — more than what we spent on health, defence, or education. So when 62 per cent of retired Australians tap into some form of age pension, it's fair to say most of us will end up navigating the Centrelink maze at some point.

The rules are more nuanced than people realise. A retired homeowner couple can hold up to $470,000 in assets and still get the full pension, with part-pension cutting out at $1,045,500. Singles get less generous thresholds. And whichever test — assets or income — hits you harder is the one Centrelink applies.

So how do you legitimately boost your entitlement? The family home remains the great exempt asset, so renovating, upgrading, or installing solar panels and batteries kills two birds — reducing assessable assets and slashing your utility bills. Prepaying that milestone overseas trip works similarly. Gifting is allowed, but capped at $10,000 per year and $30,000 over five years, with anything above treated as a "deprived asset" for five years. My tip: if you're going to gift, do it before age 62, so it's outside the five-year window by the time you hit pension age at 67.

One of the smartest strategies for couples with an age gap is shifting super into the younger spouse's accumulation account, where it's invisible to the assets test until they turn 67. You do need to weigh that against the 15 per cent tax in accumulation versus zero in pension phase.

What doesn't work? Family trusts (Centrelink sees through them), stashing cash under the mattress (banks share data), or getting too clever generally. The system rewards planning, not sleight of hand.