Yes. If your partner works, their income counts toward your combined income for the Age Pension income test, which can reduce your payment. From 20 September 2026, a couple can have combined assessable income up to $396 a fortnight before the pension starts reducing, by 50 cents for every dollar above that.
And here is the detail most guides get wrong: the Work Bonus only applies to people who are over Age Pension age themselves. If your partner is under 67 and working, none of their wages get the $300 a fortnight Work Bonus exemption. Every dollar they earn is ordinary income in the combined test.
There is good news in the rules too. If your partner is under 67, their superannuation in accumulation phase is completely invisible to Centrelink, which is one of the most underused planning features in the whole system. This guide walks through how the two means tests work for couples, what a working partner actually costs in pension terms, who really gets the Work Bonus and the strategies worth knowing about before either of you reaches 67.
How the Age Pension is assessed for couples
When either member of a couple applies for the Age Pension, Services Australia assesses your combined income and assets, regardless of whose name they are in. This applies to married, registered and de facto relationships. Centrelink looks at the relationship as a whole, not at a minimum time together.
Your pension is set by two tests run side by side: the income test and the assets test. Whichever produces the lower payment is what you get. A couple can be fine on one test and lose pension on the other, so both matter.
Phil put it bluntly on the podcast episode about how the Age Pension really works: “Like everything our government does, navigating super, the Age Pension, retirement, all that stuff’s a complex bloody minefield.” That episode walks through real case studies on both tests, and it is worth 20 minutes of your time.
The income test: how a working partner affects your pension
The income test adds up your combined assessable income: employment income, deemed income from financial assets, rental income and business income. Super in accumulation phase belonging to a partner under 67 is not counted. It only enters the test once they reach pension age or move it into an income stream.
| Combined fortnightly income | Pension effect |
|---|---|
| Up to $396 | Full pension, no reduction |
| $396 to $4,128 | Reduces by 50c per dollar above $396 |
| Above $4,128 | No pension under the income test |
Source: Services Australia, income test for Age Pension. Current as at September 2026. These thresholds are set by the Australian Government and are typically updated each year.
Worked example: partner is 64 and earning $1,500 a fortnight
Say you are 68 and on the Age Pension, your partner is 64 and working part time on $1,500 gross a fortnight, and the two of you have around $330,000 in financial assets between you.
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Partner’s employment income (no Work Bonus, they are under 67) | $1,500/fortnight |
| Deemed income on $330,000 of financial assets | $391/fortnight |
| Total combined assessable income | $1,891/fortnight |
| Less couples free area | $396/fortnight |
| Income above free area | $1,495/fortnight |
| Combined pension reduction (50c per dollar) | $747/fortnight |
| Combined couple entitlement ($1,866.00 less $747) | $1,119/fortnight |
| What you receive (half the combined entitlement) | About $560/fortnight |
Please note: All figures, projections and scenarios in this article are approximate and for illustrative purposes only. Individual outcomes will vary based on personal circumstances, income, assets and current government policy. This is general information, not personal advice.
Without the work income, the same couple would be under the free area and you would receive the full couple rate of $933.00 a fortnight. So your partner’s job costs about $374 a fortnight in pension, roughly $9,700 a year.
Does that mean the work is not worth it? Usually not. On $39,000 a year, your partner takes home around $1,366 a fortnight after tax at 2026-27 rates. After the pension reduction, the household is still ahead by roughly $990 a fortnight, about $25,800 a year. We generally find the real question is not whether a working partner costs pension (they do) but whether the household is better off overall (it usually is).
The Work Bonus: who actually gets it
The Work Bonus exempts the first $300 a fortnight of employment or self-employment income from the income test. But it only applies to a person who is over Age Pension age and receiving an eligible payment. That means:
If both of you are over 67 and on the pension, each of you gets your own $300 a fortnight exemption on your own work income. Unused amounts build up in a Work Bonus bank, up to $11,800 per person, and new pensioners start with a $4,000 credit. With no other assessable income, a working pensioner can earn $696 a fortnight ($300 Work Bonus plus the $396 free area) before the couple’s pension reduces at all, and banked credit covers higher-earning bursts, which suits seasonal or casual work well.
If your partner is under 67, they get no Work Bonus. Their wages are assessed in full from the first dollar, as in the worked example above. The only buffer is whatever is left of the $396 combined free area after deemed and other income.
Our guide to the Work Bonus covers the income bank mechanics in more detail.
The assets test: combined assets count
The assets test adds up everything the two of you own except the family home: super (once each owner is over 67), investments, bank accounts, vehicles, contents and investment properties.
| Couple type (combined) | Full pension up to | Part pension cuts out at |
|---|---|---|
| Homeowners | $499,000 | $1,121,000 |
| Non-homeowners | $766,000 | About $1,388,000 |
Source: Services Australia, assets test for Age Pension. Current as at September 2026. The pension reduces by $3 a fortnight for every $1,000 above the full pension threshold.
As an example, a homeowner couple with $700,000 in assessable assets sits $201,000 over the threshold, so their combined pension reduces by $603 a fortnight, from $1,866.00 to about $1,263.
One more thing worth knowing: since the September 2026 deeming rise, many homeowner couples with more than about $335,000 in financial assets now have their pension set by the income test rather than the assets test, so run both before assuming which one binds.
The younger partner super exemption
This is the most valuable quirk in the couples system. If your partner has not yet reached 67, their superannuation in accumulation phase is completely exempt from both means tests, no matter how large the balance.
So if you are 68 and on the pension while your 63-year-old partner holds $600,000 in accumulation-phase super, Centrelink does not count that $600,000 at all. Your entitlement is assessed on everything else.
Many couples with an age gap use the years before the older partner claims to move savings into the younger partner’s super, through spouse contributions (a tax offset of up to $540 applies on contributions up to $3,000 where the receiving spouse earns under $37,000) or larger non-concessional contributions (capped at $130,000 a year in 2026-27, or up to $390,000 under the bring-forward rule, subject to age and balance rules). Whether contributing is possible and sensible depends on individual circumstances, so this is one to model properly with an adviser before acting.
Two traps to be aware of. The exemption ends the moment that super is moved into an account-based pension, even if your partner is still under 67. And it ends when your partner reaches 67, at which point the balance becomes assessable and deemed. Our guide to legal strategies for super and the Age Pension covers this exemption alongside the other structural levers.
When only one partner has reached pension age
This situation trips up more new pension clients than almost anything else we see. If you are 67 and your partner is younger:
You can claim the Age Pension, but you are assessed as a member of a couple from day one. That means the couple rate, not the single rate. The full single pension is $1,237.70 a fortnight, while the couple rate is $933.00 each, a difference of about $305 a fortnight or $7,900 a year. You receive half of the couple’s combined entitlement, and your partner’s income and non-super assets are in the assessment from the start, even though they receive nothing themselves.
Once your partner reaches 67, they can claim in their own right, their super becomes assessable and you are both paid the couple rate under the combined tests.
Deeming: the income your super earns on paper
Even if you withdraw nothing, Centrelink deems your financial assets to earn income. From 20 September 2026, deeming is 1.75% on the first $110,600 of a couple’s financial assets and 3.75% above that. A couple with $500,000 in assessable super and savings is deemed to earn about $16,538 a year, roughly $636 a fortnight, before a single dollar of wages is added. Services Australia’s deeming page has the current rates.
This is why a modestly paid working partner can have a bigger pension impact than expected: the wages stack on top of deemed income that was already eating into the $396 free area.
Strategies couples use to manage the impact
Know which test binds. Run both tests before changing anything. If the assets test is setting your rate, managing income will not move the needle. Services Australia’s online estimators let you model scenarios, and Scott and Phil covered the most commonly missed levers in the episode on Age Pension opportunities.
Use the younger partner’s exempt window. Where one partner is years from 67, building their accumulation-phase super before the older partner claims is often the highest-impact structural move available. It is also irreversible in pension terms once they turn 67, so timing matters.
Time the work, if the worker is Work Bonus eligible. For a working partner who is over 67 and on the pension, seasonal bursts of work draw on the banked Work Bonus, which can mean little or no pension impact compared with the same income spread evenly.
Split contributions between partners. Contribution splitting lets a member transfer up to 85% of last year’s concessional contributions to their spouse’s super, which can even up balances and shift money into an under-67 partner’s exempt account. The ATO’s contribution splitting page covers the rules.
Report changes within 14 days. Any change to your partner’s work income must be reported to Services Australia within 14 days, through myGov or by phone. Prompt reporting avoids overpayment debts when income rises and gets your rate corrected quickly when it falls.
Frequently asked questions
Will my partner’s income affect my Age Pension? Yes. Your partner’s employment income is included in the couple’s combined income test whether or not they receive a pension themselves. From September 2026, the pension reduces by 50 cents for every dollar of combined assessable income above $396 a fortnight.
Does my partner get the Work Bonus on their wages? Only if they are over Age Pension age and receiving an eligible payment themselves. A partner under 67 gets no Work Bonus, so their wages count in full. This is the single most common misunderstanding we see on this topic.
How much can my partner earn before it affects my pension? If your partner is under 67, the couple’s combined assessable income can reach $396 a fortnight before the pension reduces, and deemed income from your financial assets uses up part of that first. If your partner is over 67 and on the pension, their own $300 a fortnight Work Bonus sits on top, so with no other income they could earn up to $696 a fortnight with no impact.
Does my partner’s superannuation count toward the assets test? Not while they are under 67 and the money stays in accumulation phase. It becomes assessable once they reach Age Pension age or move it into an income stream, whichever comes first.
Am I assessed as a single or a couple if my partner is younger and still working? As a couple, from the moment Centrelink treats you as one. You receive the couple rate of $933.00 a fortnight rather than the single rate of $1,237.70, about $7,900 a year less, and your partner’s income is in the assessment even though they receive no pension.
Should my partner cut their hours to protect my pension? Whether that leaves the household better off depends on the full picture: wages after tax versus pension lost, plus super contributions they keep earning. In the worked example above, a partner on $1,500 a fortnight costs about $374 a fortnight in pension but still leaves the household around $990 a fortnight ahead. Running both numbers before deciding is the sensible move, and a qualified adviser can model it for your circumstances.
What do I need to report if my partner’s income changes? Any change (starting work, changing hours, a pay rise, stopping work) must be reported to Services Australia within 14 days via your myGov account or by phone. The reporting page explains what counts.
Getting the structure right before either of you turns 67
The decisions that matter most here are made before the older partner claims: where the super sits, whether the younger partner’s exempt window has been used, and how any work income lines up with the Work Bonus rules. We generally find couples who sort the structure a few years out do far better than those reacting after the pension has already been cut. Our pension and Centrelink advice page covers how we help with exactly this.
At Wealthlab, we help Australian couples model their combined Age Pension position running both the income test and assets test across different scenarios, identifying the optimal super structure for the younger partner’s exempt period, and ensuring the Work Bonus is being used strategically. Book a free consultation today to understand exactly how your partner’s work and assets affect your pension and what you can do about it.
