Use this guide alongside the official service
Read the steps here first and keep the relevant documents or questions ready. Outside websites open in a new tab, so this guide stays here. To continue, return to the Pension Path tab or close the new tab.
If online steps are difficult, find phone, paper or in-person help.
Three things that have different rules
Age Pension age is 67. Services Australia also checks residence, income and assets. Retirement is your decision about work. Accessing your super has separate age and release conditions.
You can usually lodge an Age Pension claim up to 13 weeks before you qualify. An early claim is assessed against the qualification rules; it does not mean you will be paid early.
Your first steps
- Check the Age Pension age and residence rules. Record relevant periods living overseas.
- List your income and assets, and your partner's if you have one. Include overseas pensions, property and investments.
- Check whether you have a transfer invitation because you already receive a Centrelink payment. Respond to the invitation rather than assuming a transfer is automatic.
- Choose an online or assisted claim route and prepare the documents relevant to your circumstances.
When you need a different route
Ask Services Australia about residence agreements, recent return to Australia, permanent blindness, business or trust interests and unusual income streams. Qualifying veterans may have a DVA Service Pension route with different rules.
If you receive Disability Support Pension or Carer Payment, compare your choices before transferring. Supplements, work, care and travel conditions can differ. Do not ignore the invitation while deciding.
Help with the preparation
The free Financial Information Service explains how pensions and retirement money interact. It provides education rather than personal investment advice.
If online steps are difficult, call Services Australia's Older Australians line on 132 300. Ask for staff assistance, interpreter support or an in-person appointment. Keep personal documents with you for official channels; do not send them to Pension Path.
Your next-step checklist
For your own notes. Ticks do not submit a claim or notify an agency.
Print or write down your steps if you prefer.
Your official next step
When you are ready, use the official instructions to apply or make your change. Keep this guide open while you work through the service. Follow that service's instructions and keep any confirmation it gives you.
Services Australia: prepare to claim (opens in a new tab)Official sources for this page
Guidance reviewed 5 October 2026. Source checks and content reviews are different: a successful download does not confirm that every rule is unchanged.
- Who can get Age Pension (opens in a new tab)Services Australia · Content checked 5 October 2026Automated retrieval 5 October 2026. This is not an editorial review.
- Residence rules for Age Pension (opens in a new tab)Services Australia · Content checked 5 October 2026Automated retrieval 5 October 2026. This is not an editorial review.
- Prepare to claim Age Pension (opens in a new tab)Services Australia · Content checked 5 October 2026Automated retrieval 5 October 2026. This is not an editorial review.
- Transfer to Age Pension (opens in a new tab)Services Australia · Content checked 5 October 2026Automated retrieval 5 October 2026. This is not an editorial review.
- Prepare to transfer from DSP to Age Pension (opens in a new tab)Services Australia · Content checked 5 October 2026Automated retrieval 5 October 2026. This is not an editorial review.
- Choosing between Carer Payment and Age Pension (opens in a new tab)Services Australia · Content checked 5 October 2026Automated retrieval 5 October 2026. This is not an editorial review.
- Service Pension for veterans (opens in a new tab)Department of Veterans' Affairs · Content checked 5 October 2026Automated retrieval 5 October 2026. This is not an editorial review.
- Financial Information Service (opens in a new tab)Services Australia · Content checked 5 October 2026Automated retrieval 5 October 2026. This is not an editorial review.
- Decide how to claim Age Pension (opens in a new tab)Services Australia · Content checked 5 October 2026Automated retrieval 5 October 2026. This is not an editorial review.
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