On 20 September 2026 the maximum Age Pension rose +$36.80 a fortnight for a single person, to $1,237.70. On the same day deeming rates rose to 1.75% and 3.75%. For a single homeowner with $300,000 in savings and no other income, the pension went from $1,152.09 to $1,160.05. That's a rise of $7.96.
This is general information, not financial advice. The figures below use Services Australia's standard rules and the rates in force on each date. Services Australia's own assessment is the one that decides what you're paid.
What deeming is, in one paragraph
Deeming is the rate Centrelink assumes your financial assets earn, whatever your bank actually pays. That assumed income counts under the income test, where anything over the free area, $226 a fortnight for a single person, starts to reduce your pension. Financial assets include bank accounts, term deposits, shares, managed funds, account-based pensions, and super once you're over Age Pension age. Earn more than the deemed rate and the extra is ignored. Earn less and you're still assessed as if you'd earned it. Deeming applies to the Age Pension and to other Centrelink and DVA pensions and allowances. It doesn't affect Family Tax Benefit.
The rates from 20 September 2026
| Your situation | Lower rate applies to | Lower rate | Upper rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single | First $66,800 | 1.75% | 3.75% |
| Couple, at least one of you on a pension | First $110,600 combined | 1.75% | 3.75% |
| Couple, neither of you on a pension | First $55,300 each | 1.75% | 3.75% |
The Minister for Social Services sets the rates. From 2026 the Australian Government Actuary recommends them, and it reviews them every six months. The thresholds move each 1 July. They last rose on 1 July 2026, from $64,200 for a single person and $106,200 for a couple. The Services Australia deeming page has the current figures, and the DSS Social Security Guide keeps every rate back to 1996.
From 0.25% to 1.75% in just over a year
Deeming rates sat at 0.25% and 2.25% from 1 May 2020 until the freeze ended on 30 June 2025. They've gone up three times since. Here's what that has done to the deemed income on $300,000 for a single person.
| From | Lower rate | Upper rate | Single threshold | Deemed income a year | Per fortnight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2025 | 0.25% | 2.25% | $64,200 | $5,466 | $210.23 |
| 20 September 2025 | 0.75% | 2.75% | $64,200 | $6,966 | $267.92 |
| 20 March 2026 | 1.25% | 3.25% | $64,200 | $8,466 | $325.62 |
| 1 July 2026 | 1.25% | 3.25% | $66,800 | $8,414 | $323.62 |
| 20 September 2026 | 1.75% | 3.75% | $66,800 | $9,914 | $381.31 |
Same $300,000, same bank account. The income Centrelink counts from it has gone from $5,466 a year to $9,914. That's $4,448 a year more, and nothing about the money itself changed.
What the September rise did to the pension
Here are five homeowner households on 19 and 20 September 2026. The free areas and assets limits didn't move that day, because they're indexed each 1 July. So the only changes are the higher maximum rate and the higher deeming rates. Each single has $10,000 of other assets, each couple $20,000, and nobody has any other income.
| Household | Financial assets | Pension on 19 Sep | Pension from 20 Sep | Change a fortnight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single | $150,000 | $1,200.90 | $1,237.70 | +$36.80 |
| Single | $200,000 | $1,200.90 | $1,232.16 | +$31.26 |
| Single | $300,000 | $1,152.09 | $1,160.05 | +$7.96 |
| Couple, combined | $250,000 | $1,810.40 | $1,866.00 | +$55.60 |
| Couple, combined | $450,000 | $1,769.69 | $1,782.02 | +$12.33 |
The $300,000 single, step by step
- On 19 September: $66,800 at 1.25% is $835, and $233,200 at 3.25% is $7,579. That's $8,414 a year, or $323.62 a fortnight. It's $97.62 over the $226 free area, so half of that, $48.81, came off $1,200.90. Pension: $1,152.09.
- From 20 September: $66,800 at 1.75% is $1,169, and $233,200 at 3.75% is $8,745. That's $9,914 a year, or $381.31 a fortnight. It's $155.31 over the free area, so $77.65 comes off $1,237.70. Pension: $1,160.05.
The maximum rate went up $36.80. The extra $57.69 a fortnight of deemed income took almost $29 of it back.
The savings level where deeming starts to bite
With no other income, deemed income has to pass the free area before it touches your pension. That's $226 a fortnight for a single person and $396 combined for a couple. At the new rates you reach it with about $192,300 in financial assets as a single, or about $333,500 as a couple. At the old rates the same points were about $221,900 and $384,900. Any work or other income brings them down.
So a single person with $200,000 in the bank was out of the income test's reach on 19 September and inside it on 20 September. Below those amounts you got the whole indexation rise. Above them, each extra dollar of deemed income costs 50 cents of pension for a single person, or 25 cents each for a couple.
If the assets test sets your rate
Services Australia works out your pension under both tests and pays the lower result. Deeming only feeds the income test. So if the assets test already gives you less, the higher deeming rates don't change what you're paid. The assets limits didn't change on 20 September, which means an assets-tested pensioner got the full $36.80, or $55.60 for a couple, as long as the income test stayed the higher of the two.
Take a single homeowner with $500,000 in financial assets and $20,000 of other assets. From 20 September their income-test rate is $1,015.82 and their assets-test rate is $676.70. They're paid $676.70, exactly $36.80 more than the $639.90 they got the day before.
What you can check now
- Which test sets your rate. Run your figures through the Age Pension calculator. If the assets test sets it, deeming isn't what moves your payment.
- What your money actually earns. Deeming assumes a single person's first $66,800 earns 1.75% and the rest 3.75%. Money in an account paying less is assessed on income it isn't earning. The term deposit calculator shows what a fixed rate pays in dollars.
- Your account-based pension. Account-based pensions are deemed like savings. Some bought before 1 January 2015 are still assessed under the older rules, so check how yours is treated. The pension drawdown calculator shows how long the balance lasts.
- Selling your home. If you sell and plan to buy, build or renovate another home, the sale proceeds you set aside for it are deemed at the lower rate only, currently 1.75%. Tell Services Australia within 14 days of selling.
- The bigger picture. The retirement income gap calculator compares what you'll have coming in, pension included, with what you'll spend.
When the rates change again
The Actuary reviews the deeming rates every six months. The last three changes all started on a 20 September or 20 March, the same days pensions are indexed and Services Australia revalues shares and managed funds. The thresholds move each 1 July. Services Australia applies new rates automatically, so you don't need to do anything when they change. If you'd like to talk it through, you can speak to a Financial Information Service officer on the Centrelink older Australians line, 132 300.
General information only, not financial advice. Rates and rules checked 29 October 2026 against Services Australia, the Department of Social Services, the Australian Government Actuary and the Federal Register of Legislation. Services Australia makes the actual assessment, so check with them on 132 300 or speak to a licensed financial adviser about your situation.