Calculator
How much could you access?
An estimate of what your home could provide, through the Pension Top-Up or the Care Advance Loan. It uses published rules and asks for no personal details.
Step 1 of 3
Who owns the home?
Both options look at who owns the home and how old the owners are. If you own it with a partner, we use the age of the younger of you.
The Scheme starts at 67. The Care Advance Loan usually starts at 60.
Roughly what is the home worth?
The value of the home sets how much you could receive. A rough figure is fine, and a recent rates notice or nearby sales will give you a good idea.
Is there a mortgage still owing on the home?
Any home loan still owing is paid off first, so it lowers what you could receive. If the home is fully paid off, choose the first option.
A rough figure is fine. Your latest home loan statement shows it.
Count
- A home loan on this home
- A line of credit secured on it
Leave out
- Credit cards and car loans
- Personal loans not secured on it
Your estimate
Your answers
An estimate only, not an offer. Services Australia decides the Scheme amount, and a full assessment decides a Care Advance Loan. How it's estimated
Talk it through
Our method
How we estimate
We use published Government figures and MoneySmart's guide. The real amount depends on a full assessment: by Services Australia for the Scheme, and by Care Advance for a loan. This is not financial or credit advice, and it is not an offer.
Pension Top-Up
- Each fortnight: your loan and pension together can be up to 150% of the maximum Age Pension rate.
- In total: the home's value, rounded down to the nearest $10,000, divided by 10,000, then multiplied by an age amount that rises with the age of the younger owner.
- Interest: 3.95% a year, added every fortnight, so the total limit is reached sooner than a simple sum suggests.
Example
Age 70, home worth $256,000. Rounded down to $250,000, that is 25 lots of $3,080, so a total limit of $77,000.
Care Advance Loan
- At age 60: about 15% to 20% of the home's value, following MoneySmart's guide.
- Each year over 60: add about 1 percentage point. We stop at 45% to stay on the careful side.
- Anything owing: taken off, because the existing loan is normally paid out first.
- Interest: not included. It is added to the loan over time, so the amount owed grows.
Example
Age 70, home worth $750,000, nothing owing. 25% to 30% of the value, so about $187,500 to $225,000.
Figures we use
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum Age Pension, single | $1,200.90 a fortnight | Services Australia, 11 Sep 2026 |
| Maximum Age Pension, couple | $905.20 each, $1,810.40 combined | Services Australia, 11 Sep 2026 |
| Scheme fortnightly limit | 150% of the maximum rate | Services Australia |
| Scheme age amount | $1,710 at 55 or younger, up to $6,750 at 90 or older | Services Australia, 28 Sep 2023 |
| Scheme interest | 3.95% a year, added fortnightly | Services Australia |
| Care Advance Loan guide | 15% to 20% at 60, plus 1 point a year | MoneySmart (ASIC) |
Pension rates change every 20 March and 20 September, and we update this page when they do. Age Pension age is currently 67.
Talk it through with us.
The first conversation is free, with no obligation.
Make an enquiry
or call 1300 144 627