How much you can own in assets while remaining eligible for the age pension will increase tomorrow, 20 September.

The changes reflect indexation adjustments, which are made twice per year, to account for inflation.

Let’s find out what’s changing tomorrow.

How much can you own and still get the age pension?

If you were born on or after 1 January 1957, you can apply for the pension from age 67.

You do not have to be in retirement to qualify for the pension. It’s an entitlement based on age, but it’s subject to a few rules.

Among the most important are the assets and income tests.

The pension is means-tested because it is social security designed to support senior Australians who need it most.

Tomorrow, the rules for both tests change. In this article, we’re focusing on the assets test changes.

Assessable assets under the test include superannuation, ASX shares, bonds, investment properties, cash, and home contents.

Your primary place of residence is excluded from the assets test.

If you rent, the rules allow you to own more in assets while still qualifying for the pension.

Under this next round of indexation changes, the upper thresholds for the assets test are increasing.

Here are the details.

Do you own your home?

Single homeowners whose assets are worth less than $333,000 qualify for the full age pension.

Single homeowners whose assets are worth between $333,001 and $745,750 (up from $733,500) will be eligible for a part-payment.

Couple homeowners whose assets are worth less than $499,000 are eligible for the full age pension.

Couple homeowners who have between $499,001 and $1,121,000 (up from $1,102,500) in assets will be eligible for a part-payment.

Do you rent your home?

Single renters whose assets are worth less than $600,000 qualify for the full age pension.

Single renters who have between $600,001 and $1,012,750 (up from $1,000,500) in assets will be eligible for a part-payment.

Couple renters whose assets are worth less than $766,000 qualify for the full age pension.

Couple renters who have between $766,001 and $1,388,000 (up from $1,369,500) in assets will be eligible for a part-payment.

Age pension to increase by $37 per fortnight

Pension payments are also increasing from tomorrow.

Singles will get an extra $36.80 per fortnight, raising the total age pension payment to $1,237.70 per fortnight.

Couples will get an extra $27.80 per partner, per fortnight, increasing the total payment to $933 per partner, per fortnight.

If you’re curious about how much income you can earn while still getting the age pension under the new rules, read our article here.

The post How much in assets can you own and still get the age pension under new rules starting tomorrow? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Investing $500 a month may not sound like enough to change your life.

But give it enough time and the numbers can become surprisingly large.

That is the power of combining regular investing with compounding.

But what about income? Could it help build a major source of passive income? Let’s run the numbers.

Why $500 a month can go a long way

One of the best things about investing regularly is that you do not need to worry too much about finding the perfect time to buy.

By putting $500 into ASX shares like CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL), Goodman Group (ASX: GMG), or Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) every month, you will inevitably buy during strong markets, weak markets, corrections, and everything in between.

This is called dollar-cost averaging or DCA.

It takes some of the emotion out of investing and turns wealth building into a habit, allowing compounding to start doing more of the work.

What could the passive income look like?

After 10 years of investing $500 a month, the portfolio would be worth approximately $100,000 based on a 10% average annual return. That return is not guaranteed, but it is achievable and largely in line with historical share market returns.

If an investor then moved that money into a portfolio producing a 5% dividend yield, it could generate around $5,000 of passive income each year.

But why stop there? If you keep going for another decade then things start becoming much more substantial.

For example, after 20 years, the portfolio could be worth roughly $360,000. At a 5% dividend yield, that could produce almost $18,000 a year in passive income.

By year 30, compounding has had even more time to work its magic. All else equal, the portfolio would be worth approximately $1 million, capable of generating around $50,000 a year at a 5% yield.

And after 40 years, the same $500 monthly investment could potentially grow to approximately $2.8 million.

A portfolio of that size yielding 5% could produce almost $140,000 a year in passive income. Not bad!

Key takeaway  

Investing for passive income is something that takes time. But as the examples above demonstrate, it certainly can be worth the patience.

The main thing is getting started. Investing $500 a month into ASX shares may not look meaningful today. But repeated hundreds of times and given decades to compound, it can become something very material.

The post How much passive income could I make by investing $500 a month in ASX shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in CSL and Goodman Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended CSL, Goodman Group, and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended CSL, Goodman Group, and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Light & Wonder vs Aristocrat Leisure shares: which gaming giant is better?

When it comes to the world of gaming technology, both Light & Wonder (ASX: LNW) and Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (ASX: ALL) are heavyweights that regularly come up in discussions among keen Aussie investors. If you’re tossing up between these two innovative consumer discretionary companies, this side-by-side look at their fundamentals, performance, and outlook should help you decide which could be the smarter buy today.

The case for Light & Wonder

Light & Wonder, based in Las Vegas, develops and supplies technology-based gaming products and services to casinos and digital platforms. The company operates through three key segments: Gaming (physical machines and platforms for casinos), SciPlay (digital games for mobile and web), and iGaming (real-money online gaming and sports wagering solutions). According to its most recent public description, Light & Wonder draws on decades of experience to deliver content and platforms across both land-based and digital gaming.

Looking at the latest numbers, Light & Wonder currently has a market cap of $9.53 billion, making it a significant player but still notably smaller than Aristocrat. Its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio stands at 25.88, and its earnings per share (EPS) is $3.40. Interestingly, the company doesn’t currently pay a dividend, so it’s more a growth-focused pick. Its year-to-date (YTD) return sits at –21.93%, so 2026 has been tough for LNW holders so far.

The case for Aristocrat Leisure

Aristocrat Leisure is one of Australia’s best-known global gaming companies, with operations in around 100 countries and licences in more than 340 gaming jurisdictions. The group divides its business into three arms: its core gaming technology (slot machines and casino systems), Aristocrat Interactive (real-money digital gaming), and Product Madness, which creates highly popular free-to-play mobile games. Though its roots are in land-based pokies, Aristocrat has pushed hard into the digital and US markets, and according to its most recent company profile, is now a true global player.

On the numbers, Aristocrat is a giant with a market cap of $36.72 billion. Its P/E ratio is virtually identical to Light & Wonder at 25.90. Notably, Aristocrat does pay a dividend, with a yield of 1.61% and a current dividend per share of $0.99. Unlike Light & Wonder, it’s delivered a positive YTD return of 6.57%, showing resilience in the recent market.

Valuation comparison

Here’s how the key numbers stack up:

Metric	Light & Wonder	Aristocrat Leisure
Market Cap	$9.53 billion	$36.72 billion
P/E Ratio	25.88	25.90
Dividend Yield	0.00%	1.61%
Earnings per share	$3.400	$2.374
YTD Return	-21.93%	6.57%

While both trade on almost identical P/E ratios, Aristocrat is much larger, is paying a dividend, and has delivered a positive YTD return.

Recent share price performance

Let’s look at the recent share price trends, comparing share price performance from 18 August 2026 to 16 September 2026.

• Light & Wonder closed at $133.25 on 18 August 2026 and finished at $123.68 on 16 September 2026, representing a decline of around 7.2% over the period.
• Aristocrat Leisure closed at $63.41 on 18 August 2026 and at $61.50 on 16 September 2026, a fall of approximately 3% over the same stretch.

In other words, both shares have slipped over this four-week snapshot, but Light & Wonder’s decline has been noticeably steeper.

Which is the better buy?

Based on the most recent data, my pick between these two is clear: I’d lean toward Aristocrat Leisure. Here’s why. Both companies are tech-savvy gaming leaders, but Aristocrat is steadier and offers shareholders a dividend stream. The company’s positive YTD return of 6.57% versus Light & Wonder’s –21.93% signals underlying strength. Both trade on similar P/E multiples, so Aristocrat doesn’t look overpriced versus its smaller rival. Light & Wonder may still offer growth potential down the track, but based on current momentum and yield, Aristocrat looks the more compelling buy today.

The post Light & Wonder vs Aristocrat Leisure: Which gaming share wins? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Laura Stewart has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Light & Wonder Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Light & Wonder Inc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips. This article was prepared with the assistance of Large Language Model (LLM) tools for the initial draft. Any content assisted by AI is subject to our robust human-in-the-loop quality control framework, involving thorough review, substantial editing, and fact-checking by our experienced writers and editors holding appropriate credentials. The Motley Fool Australia stands behind the work of our editorial team and takes ultimate responsibility for the content published by The Motley Fool Australia.