Try it with your numbers: Work Bonus calculator: how much can I earn and keep my full Age Pension?
The short version
If you get the Age Pension and you work, the Work Bonus means the first $300 a fortnight of your work income isn’t counted in the income test. On top of that, the normal income threshold ($226 a fortnight single, $396 combined for couples, from 20 September 2026) applies to your other assessed income. Put together, a single pensioner with no other income can earn $526 a fortnight before their pension changes.
The Work Bonus isn’t an extra payment and you don’t apply for it. Services Australia applies it automatically when you report your employment income.
Who can get it
- You must be of Age Pension age (67) and get the Age Pension, Carer Payment or Disability Support Pension.
- Transitional rate pensioners (some people who were on a part pension in September 2009) can’t get it.
- It applies to wages and salary, and to self-employment income from gainful work (work involving your personal effort, such as a plumber, celebrant or artist). Managing your own investments or rental property isn’t gainful work.
How much can I earn? Some typical numbers
| Situation (homeowner, under the assets test limit) | Earn up to, per fortnight |
|---|---|
| Single, no other income | $526 |
| Single, $100,000 in the bank (deemed $92.85 a fortnight) | $433.15 |
| Couple, both working, no other income | $996 combined |
| Couple, one working, no other income | $696 |
Deemed income from your savings, shares and super comes off the income threshold first, which is why the second line is lower. These numbers keep your pension at the level it would be with no work income.
What happens above the limit
For a single person, every dollar of assessed income over $226 reduces the pension by 50 cents. Say Margaret is single, owns her home, has $50,000 in the bank (deemed income of $33.65 a fortnight) and earns $600 a fortnight from casual work. The Work Bonus takes $300 off her wages, leaving $300 assessed. Her total assessed income is $333.65, which is $107.65 over the income threshold, so her pension reduces by $53.83 to about $1,183.87 a fortnight. She keeps all of her $600 wages, so she is still about $546 a fortnight better off than if she didn’t work (before tax).
If Margaret had a $4,000 Work Bonus balance (the starting balance for new claims since 1 July 2024), the balance would absorb the extra $300 a fortnight for 13 fortnights before her pension started to reduce. More on that in how the income bank works.
When earnings aren’t the problem
Services Australia works out your pension under both the income test and the assets test and pays the lower result. If your assets already reduce your pension, work income often doesn’t change anything until it becomes the bigger limit. For example, a single homeowner with $550,000 of assessable assets (including $150,000 in financial assets) gets about $586.99 a fortnight under the assets test, and could earn around $1,662 a fortnight before work income made any difference. In that situation, how your assets are structured matters more than how much you work.
Things to check before taking on work
- Report your income each fortnight, even if it’s under the limit. You don’t need to send payslips unless asked.
- Tax is separate. The Age Pension is taxable, and working can change your tax position. The Seniors and Pensioners Tax Offset may help, but that’s an ATO question, not a Centrelink one.
- Your partner’s situation. Each person’s Work Bonus only covers their own earnings. See couples working on the Age Pension.
- Super contributions. If you’re working past 67, you may still be able to contribute to super, but super counts in the Age Pension tests once you reach pension age.
Quick answers
Do I have to apply for the Work Bonus?
No. Services Australia applies it automatically when you report your employment income. You need to report your income each fortnight even when it is under the limit.
Is the Work Bonus $300 a week or a fortnight?
A fortnight. The first $300 of work income in each 14-day period isn’t counted in the income test. Unused amounts build up in your Work Bonus balance, to a maximum of $11,800.
Does the Work Bonus change with indexation?
The $300 amount and the $11,800 cap are set in the Social Security Act and aren’t automatically indexed. Pension rates and the income threshold ($226 single, $396 couple combined from 20 September 2026) are indexed, so check current figures with Services Australia.
Sources
- Services Australia: How the Work Bonus works (page updated 14 February 2025)
- Services Australia: Who can get the Work Bonus (page updated 14 February 2025)
- Services Australia: Income test for Age Pension (page updated 20 September 2026)
- Services Australia: How much Age Pension you can get (rates from 20 September 2026)
- Services Australia: Assets test for Age Pension (limits from 20 September 2026)
- Services Australia: Deeming (rates current at 27 October 2026)
- DSS Social Security Guide 3.1.15.30 Work bonus: application (last reviewed 6 May 2024)
- DSS Social Security Guide 1.1.G.25 Gainful work (work bonus) (last reviewed 11 August 2025)
Figures checked on 27 October 2026. Age Pension rates and thresholds are indexed during the year, so check current figures.
General advice warning. This article is general information only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Examples are illustrations, not predictions or guarantees, and Services Australia decides your actual entitlement. Rules and thresholds change; check the sources above. Consider our Financial Services Guide and seek personal advice before acting. FinForce is a Corporate Authorised Representative (No. 001241242) of Financial Force Pty Ltd, ABN 42 091 425 464, AFSL 238337.