The Age Pension Playbook · First Edition · 2026

You can have far more than you think and still be paid.

A homeowner couple can hold $1,121,000 in assets — on top of the house — and still be paid. A single homeowner, $745,750. Most Australians who assume they've got too much have never actually checked.

Both means tests — and which one is setting your rate
Twelve legal levers — what each is worth, and what each costs
All eight states — the concessions almost nobody claims

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The Age Pension Playbook — front cover, 2026 edition

44 pages · First edition

No. 1 · The Number

Almost nobody is refused the Age Pension. They refuse themselves.

Three beliefs do most of the damage: that owning a home puts you over the line, that having superannuation rules you out, and that a figure somebody mentioned years ago still applies. All three are wrong. Each one costs thousands a year for as long as it goes unchecked.

$0What your home counts for in the assets test — at any value, in any suburb

$412,750The width of the part-pension band for a single homeowner. Everyone inside it is entitled to a payment

$15,844A year, for couples separated by illness — and it is never granted automatically

No. 2 · The Maths

Don't weigh $19 against other books. Weigh it against not checking.

Take a real case from Chapter 3. Margaret is single, owns her home, and has $500,000 in assessable assets — super, savings, a car, her contents. She has never applied, because $500,000 sounds like too much.

She never checks

Age Pension received $0
Pensioner Concession Card None
State energy & rates concessions None
Cost of finding out $0

Per year$0

She reads Chapter 3 and lodges

Assessed under the taper $736.70/ft
Age Pension, annualised $19,154
Concession card, state benefits $1,000–$2,900
Cost of finding out $19

Per year~$20,154

Margaret is the worked example in Chapter 3 and her figures follow the published taper. Your own assets, income and circumstances will produce a different number — nobody can promise you one. The book's job is to stop you assuming the answer is zero.

No. 3 · What's Inside

Twelve chapters, in the order the system actually works.

Most explanations jump around. This one starts at the gate and finishes at the paperwork, so no chapter assumes something you haven't been told yet.

01The GateAge 67, the residency rules, and the 13-week claim window most people miss

02The MachineBoth tests run at once and you're paid the lower result — the mechanic behind nearly every confused conversation

03What You're Allowed to HaveAll eight assets-test numbers, the taper, and the $78 rule

04What Counts and What Doesn'tThe home and its land, super before and after 67, contents, and the assets people forget they hold

05DeemingWhy your assessed income rises without a dollar arriving — and the crossover that says whether September helped you

06Income, and WorkingThe income test, and the $11,800 Work Bonus balance most pensioners never check

07The Twelve Legal LeversWhat the legislation permits, what each is worth in dollars, and what each one genuinely costs you

08Rent Assistance and the CardUp to $5,818 a year paid on top, and why the card can be worth more than a small pension

09The Couple PenaltyThe $15,844 gap, and the illness-separated status nobody is told to ask for

10Leaving AustraliaThe 26-week cliff, the 35-year rule, and why the answer for most people is better than they fear

11The Money Your State Owes YouAll eight states and territories, with the actual energy, rates, water and registration figures

12Claiming, and Staying CurrentWhat to have ready before you lodge, and the three dates that change the numbers every year

No. 4 · What You Get

Everything, for less than a fortnight's Rent Assistance.

The Age Pension Playbook44-page illustrated PDF · 12 chapters · every figure checked against Services Australia Included

The 2026 Rates CardTwo-page reference — both tests, deeming, Rent Assistance, the Work Bonus Included

Every number on one pageThe appendix — the whole system, printable, stuck on the fridge Included

The 20 March 2027 editionRates move twice a year. The next update is yours at no extra cost Included

$19AUD

Launch price — rises to $29 when the timer runs out

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The 2026 Rates Card

Two pages with every figure that decides your payment — both tests, the taper, deeming and its crossover, Rent Assistance, the Work Bonus, and the three entitlements almost nobody claims. It's the book's appendix, pulled out and given away.

Download the Rates Card — free

No. 5 · Before You Buy

Who this is for, and who it isn't.

Worth your $19 if

You're approaching 67, or already past it, and have never applied
You were knocked back once and assumed that was permanent
You're on a part pension and don't know which test is setting your rate
You rent, or your partner has moved into care
You're planning a long trip or a move overseas
You want the actual figures, not a summary of a summary

Don't buy it if

You want to be told what to do with your money — this explains rules, it doesn't advise
You're after a way around the means tests. There isn't one, and the book says so plainly
You want your own numbers run. Services Australia's Financial Information Service does that free, and the book sends you there repeatedly
You're well under 60 — the thresholds will move several times before they matter to you

No. 6 · Questions

Straight answers.

Where do the numbers come from?

Services Australia and the Department of Social Services rate schedules, plus each state or territory's own concessions body for Chapter 11. Where a figure could not be confirmed against a government source, the book says so rather than filling the gap.

The rates change twice a year. Does the book go stale?

Yes — and it tells you exactly when: 20 March, 1 July and 20 September. Chapter 12 sets out what moves on each date so you can keep your own copy current, and the 20 March 2027 edition is included in this purchase.

Is this financial advice?

No. It is general information about how a government payment is calculated. It doesn't recommend products, doesn't know your circumstances, and points you to Services Australia and to licensed advisers for anything that turns on your own situation.

Are you connected to Centrelink?

No. The Pension Decoder is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Services Australia, Centrelink, the Department of Social Services, or the Australian Government. Where this book and servicesaustralia.gov.au disagree, the government source is right.

What format is it, and can I print it?

A 44-page PDF set for A4. It reads well on a phone or tablet and prints cleanly if you'd rather hold it.

I'm not confident with computers. Is it hard to get?

No. You pay, and the download link appears immediately and is emailed to you as well. If it doesn't arrive, reply to that email and it'll be sent again.

The rules are public. Almost nobody reads them.

That's the whole advantage this book gives you — and the reason a homeowner couple with a million dollars in assets is still owed a payment they've never claimed.

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