A pensioner can have significant savings, but the amount in the bank (and other assets) affects their Age Pension, with different limits for homeowners and non-homeowners; for a full pension (as of late 2025), a homeowner can have up to around $321,500 in assets, while a non-homeowner can have up to $579,500, with higher combined limits for couples, and these values increase for a part-pension before it stops entirely.
Some assets are exempt – these include the family home, assets in superannuation under pension age, funeral bonds up to $15,000 for a single bond, an accommodation bond paid to an aged care facility, and gifts within the allowable limits.
If you have £10,000 or less in savings or investments (including your pension pot) it won't affect how much Pension Credit you'll receive. But you might get a reduced amount if you have more than £10,000 saved.
Pensioners might need to pay tax on their interest if it's higher than their personal savings tax allowance. You'll need to declare any interest on your self-assessment tax return if you submit one.
That's the limit to get the full age pension. A couple can have ~$1059000 in assets before it cuts out entirely. Unfortunately they also add the value of any cars you might own and personal items or collections to find the total of your assets. So just over $1m is enough to not give you any pension.
An asset is anything you own that holds monetary value. That means things like your house, your car, and your checking account funds are considered assets.
You are free to give any of your assets away, including your home. However it could mean that you lose your entitlement to the pension. Centrelink has very strict limits on how much of your assets you can 'gift' before your pension will be affected (the 'gifting rules').
Deposits over $10,000 are treated a little differently by banks because of a law called the Bank Secrecy Act. Under this law, when you make a cash deposit of $10,000 or more, the bank is required to file a Currency Transaction Report (CTR). The CTR needs to include: The name of the person who is making the deposit.
Starting November 2025, banks will enforce stricter identity and account verification checks under DWP's data-sharing arrangements. This means: Payments may be held if identity or bank details are not fully verified. Claimants with old or inactive accounts may need to confirm ownership.
People of pension age can have up to £10,000 savings in the bank before it affects their pension credit. So if you have savings over £10,000, it will start to count towards your income calculation. Every £500 over £10,000 will be calculated as £1 additional income per week.
What's Changing From 10 January 2026
Is my home considered an asset? Your home is not counted as an asset when calculating pension or payment, but it does affect how your pension or payment is assessed under the assets test. If you are a homeowner your asset value limit is lower than someone who does not own their residence.
Assets you don't include on the FAFSA
UGMA/UTMA accounts that you are a custodian for, but not the owner. Life insurance. ABLE accounts. Retirement accounts.
The top ten financial mistakes most people make after retirement are:
There were 1,918,618 total retirement accounts (including employer-sponsored plans and individually controlled IRA savings and investment accounts) with balances of at least $1 million as of September 30, 2025. The average account balance for these retirement millionaires was $2,388,409 as of September 30, 2025.
An $800,000 portfolio for retirement could be considered sufficient, particularly if there is substantial income from sources like Social Security. This is especially true if your expenses are low and you don't have significant healthcare costs.
The happiest retirees have an average total monthly income of £1,700. To get at least that much a month, and assuming you retire at 65, you'll need to: Have a pension pot of about £172,500, after you've taken your tax-free cash. Be eligible for the full State Pension, which is currently £11,973 a year.