Thousands more Aussie seniors are set to qualify for the Age Pension when changes come into effect on Thursday. Pension rates will be going up today, and so will the upper thresholds of the income and asset tests applied by Centrelink.

To receive the Age Pension, you need to be at least 67 years old and pass an income test and an asset test. From today, the upper cut-off thresholds for these tests will increase.

That means people will be able to earn more and have more assets and still be able to qualify for a part-pension. Part-pensioners are also entitled to the Pensioner Concession Card, which offers cheaper health care, medicines and discounts estimated to be worth more than a thousand dollars per year.

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Here’s a breakdown of the changes.

Income test changes

Single pensioners will be able to earn a maximum of $2,510 a fortnight to qualify for a part Age Pension, up $9.20 a fortnight from $2,500.80.

Couple pensioners will be able to earn a maximum of $3,836.40 a fortnight, up $14 a fortnight from $3,882.40.

To get the full Age Pension, singles are only allowed to earn $212 per fortnight and couples $372 combined per fortnight.

These figures don’t include the work bonus scheme, which allows seniors to earn up to $300 a fortnight from employment before their pension is impacted.

Asset test changes

Single homeowners will be able to have assets of $697,000 to qualify for a part Age Pension, while single non-owner-owners can have $949,000. That’s up $1,500 from $695,500 and $947,500 respectively.

Couple homeowners will be able to have combined assets of $1,047,500 and get a part amount, while couple non-homeowners can have $1,299,500. The figures are up $2,000 from $1,045,500 and $1,297,500.

To get the full Age Pension, singles are only allowed to have $314,000 as homeowners and $566,000 as non-homeowners.

Couples are allowed to have $470,000 in assets as homeowners and $722,000 as non-homeowners to get the full amount.

Pension rates

The Age Pension, along with other payments like JobSeeker, the Disability Support Pension, Carer Payment and the Parenting Payment will increase on today with regular indexation.

The maximum single rate for the Age Pension will increase by $4.60 to $1,149 a fortnight, while the partnered rate will increase by $3.50 each to $866.10, or a combined $7 to $1,732.20 a fortnight.