The changes are part of the twice-yearly indexation of pensions on 20 March and 20 September to account for cost-of-living variations.
Other government payments, indexed quarterly, will also be affected by the changes, including:
- the age pension
- disability support pension
- JobSeeker payments
- Parenting payments
- Carer payments
- Commonwealth Rent Assistance
- Abstudy
Boosted payments apply automatically.
How much will the age pension increase by in March 2025?
The single age pension will increase by $4.60 per fortnight to $1,149.00 a fortnight.
Partnered pensioners will receive an additional $3.50 to $866.10 a fortnight each or a total of $1732.20.
See also: How does the age pension work
The increases will also apply to disability support and carer payments.
How much will JobSeeker increase by in March 2025?
For a single JobSeeker recipient age 22 and over without children, the payment will increase by $3.10 a fortnight, bringing to total payment to $789.90 (including energy supplement).
Those age 22 and over with children will receive $846 (with energy supplement), an increase of $3.30 a fortnight.
The same increase and new payments will apply to singles age 55 and over, after nine month of no work, as well as singles 22 and over with partial capacity to work (0-14 hours).
Partnered JobSeeker recipients will receive an additional $2.80 a fortnight, taking the payment to $722.90 each (with energy supplement).
How much will Commonwealth Rent Assistance increase by in March 2025?
For those paid under the Social Security Act
A single person without children receiving rent assistance will so another 60 cents a fortnight, increasing the assistance to $212 a fortnight.
For a single sharing a home, it will increase 53 cents to $141.33.
For couples, rent assistance will go up 80 cents to $199.80 a fortnight.
For those paid under the Family Assistance Act
Singles and couples with one or two children will receive an extra 98 cents a fortnight to $249.20 a fortnight.
For three or more children, the payment will go up $1.12 to $281.54 a fortnight.
See also: What is rent assistance and who is eligible for it?
How much will parenting payments increase by in March 2025?
People on the single parenting payment (under age pension age) will get an additional $4 a fortnight to $1,023.50 (including energy supplement).
Partnered parents will receive an extra $2.80 to $723 (with energy supplement).
Income test limits for receiving parenting payments have also been raised.
Pension income and asset limits also raised
The cap on income that disqualifies people from receiving the age pension has also been lifted.
It’s gone up by $9.20 a fortnight to $2,510 a fortnight for a single person and by $14 to $3,836.40 of combined income for couples.
Asset test limits have also lifted between $1,500 and $3,000 for age pension eligibility.
Single homeowners will see the asset limit lift by $1,500 to $679,000 while the new limit for single non-homeowners is $949,000.
The limit for couples will be raised by $2,000 to $1,047,500 (combined) for homeowners and $1,299,500 for non-homeowners.
Caps for part-pension limits have also been raised between $1,250 and $2,500.
What is indexation?
While some federal government payments are indexed quarterly, pensions - including the age pension - are indexed twice a year, on 20 March and 20 September, to reflect cost-of-living variations.
The changes are based on movement in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or the Pension and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI) over the previous six months - whichever is higher.
The 20 March/20 September indexation affects both pension, energy supplement payments, and other government payments (including those indexed quarterly).
The Services Australia website provides a full list of new pension and other payment rates.
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