Pension Bonus Scheme

The scheme is voluntary and allows you to keep on working and accrue periods of work that count toward a lump-sum bonus when you stop working and claim Age Pension.

To join the Pension Bonus Scheme, you must have qualified for the Age Pension before 20 September 2009. Men must have been born before 20 September 1944 to qualify. Women must have been born before 1 January 1946.

Pension Bonus can only be paid to people who are registered in the scheme and have not received an income support payment (excluding Carer Payment) since qualifying for Age Pension.

Income support payments include Age Pension, Disability Support Pension, Special Benefit, Austudy, Bereavement Allowance, Widow Allowance, and Veterans’ Affairs service pensions.

Only one bonus is ever payable. You must claim your Pension Bonus at the same time you claim Age Pension. If you cannot get Age Pension, you cannot get a bonus.

Depending on your circumstances you may be better off claiming Age Pension now rather than deferring the claim to get a Pension Bonus. We recommend you make an appointment with one of our Financial Information Service Officers to get free and independent information to help you make this decision.

A Pension Bonus payment can only be paid to people who are registered in the scheme.

Read more about registering in the Pension Bonus Scheme

To register for the scheme and to claim the bonus, you must be an Australian resident and in Australia on both the day you lodge your registration form and the day you lodge your claim. To qualify as an Australian resident, you must be living in Australia as:

• an Australian citizen
• the holder of a permanent resident visa, or
• a protected special category visa holder, that is, a New Zealand citizen who was in Australia on 26 February 2001 or for 12 months in the two years immediately before that date, or who was assessed before 26 February 2004 as 'protected'

You also need to have been an Australian resident for a continuous period of at least ten years, or for a number of periods that total more than ten years, with one of the periods being at least five years, unless you:

• are a refugee or former refugee
• were getting Partner Allowance, Widow Allowance or Widow B Pension immediately before turning Age Pension age, or
• are a woman whose partner died while you were both Australian residents and you had two years residence immediately before claiming Age Pension

You may use the provisions of international social security agreements to meet residence requirements when you register for the scheme, but not when claiming your bonus.

The work test for the Pension Bonus Scheme requires you to complete at least 960 hours of paid work each year—that is, an average of 20 hours per week for 48 weeks each year.

Read more about the work test

Only accruing membership can be counted toward your Pension Bonus. Non-accruing membership may allow you to remain in the scheme even if you cannot work.

Read more about accruing and non-accruing membership

The Pension Bonus Scheme may not suit everyone who continues working and defers claiming Age Pension. Some people may be better off financially if they claim Age Pension or a Veterans’ Affairs Service Pension while they work.

This can depend on:

• your current level of income and assets
• the amount of income you need when you retire from the workforce
• taxation issues
• superannuation, and
• health and lifestyle issues

We offer confidential, free, independent, expert information through our Financial Information Service. Financial Information Service officers can give you information to assist in planning for your future and retirement. You can also discuss your options with your own financial or taxation adviser. As with other financial plans, you will need to review your position from time to time.

Even if your best option now is to register for the Pension Bonus Scheme, you should keep up-to-date with the regular changes to pension rates and thresholds. You may be better off claiming Age Pension earlier than you originally planned to.

FIS officers can also help you plan when to claim your bonus.

To make an appointment with a Financial Information Service officer or ask for information on investment planning, call 132 300.

The payment amount you can get depends on a number of factors.

Read more about calculating the amount of Pension Bonus

Pension Bonus is a personal entitlement. If you pass away before you make a successful claim for the bonus, the bonus amount cannot be transferred to your estate.

If you have a partner and you pass away before you make a successful claim for Age Pension and Pension Bonus, your surviving partner may be entitled to a Pension Bonus Bereavement Payment. The amount payable is based on your accrued bonus periods.

If you are registered for the Pension Bonus Scheme separately from your partner, you do not lose your own entitlement if your partner passes away. If, however, you are not working and have been relying on your partner’s work to meet the work-test requirements, you will need to start work or claim your bonus within 26 weeks of your partner’s death.

When you claim the Pension Bonus, you must also claim Age Pension. If you qualify for the Pension Bonus and Age Pension you may also be entitled to other payments and services such as:

Our self service options are a quick and effective way to deal with us. You can use self service where it's convenient to you and manage things yourself:

• online - you need to register to use some of the services, then you can do many things where and when it suits you
• on your mobile device - our Express Plus mobile apps are simple, fast and convenient, giving you more choices for dealing with Centrelink
• on the phone - you can self-register for Centrelink Phone Self Service
• using a self service terminal at one of our Service Centres

The Department of Veterans’ Affairs has a similar Pension Bonus Scheme. For information on the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Pension Bonus Scheme, call 133 254, or Freecall 1800 555 254.

As a member of the scheme, you will be sent News for Seniors, a magazine containing news on payments and services.

You will need to keep a record of the sort of work you are doing, dates on which you did the work, number of hours you worked, number of hours you worked outside Australia (if any), and name(s) of your employer(s).

Download a copy of the Pension Bonus Scheme work record.