Borrow Against Your Home From Centrelink at 3.95% — The Pension Loan Few Retirees Have Heard Of

The Home Equity Access Scheme is a government loan against your own home. It's charged at 3.95% a year, and it's been part of the Age Pension system since 1985. At 30 June 2026 it had 20,264 participants, out of about 2.72 million people on the Age Pension. This video works through the numbers on screen using the rules in force from 20 September 2026. What we work through on screen: Who qualifies, including self-funded retirees whose pension rate is nil The 150% ceiling: about $618.85 a fortnight on top of a full single pension, or up to $1,856.55 a fortnight for a single person on a nil rate Lump-sum advances: two in any 26 fortnights, up to about $16,090 a year single or $24,258 for a couple Why the fortnightly loan doesn't reduce your pension, and when an advance starts to count The Maximum Loan Amount formula and age table, e.g. an $800,000 home at 67 = $219,200 What 3.95% compounding every fortnight does over 10 years The government scheme vs a commercial reverse mortgage at 8.99% The No Negative Equity Guarantee, and the two ways to lose it What happens when you die, when your partner stays in the house, and when you downsize How to set your own lower limit in writing Figures: Age Pension maximum rates from 20 Sep 2026; HEAS rate, caps and age components from Services Australia; participant data from the DSS HEAS quarterly report (June 2026); commercial rate from Heartland Bank's published rates (September 2026). Compounding examples hold the rate at 3.95% and the pension at today's rate. This channel isn't run by Services Australia, isn't paid by any lender, and isn't selling anything. This is general information only, not personal financial advice. Before you borrow against your home, speak to a licensed financial adviser, a registered Tax Agent, or book a free Services Australia Financial Information Service appointment.