Important news for Australian seniors: the Age Pension rises on 20 September.

Payments are indexed twice a year, in March and September, using whichever measure of inflation or wages growth is highest.

Given the high inflation figures, this round will deliver the biggest lift in several years.

What the new Age Pension rate is worth

A single pensioner will receive $1,237.70 per fortnight from 20 September.

That is an increase of $36.80 a fortnight, which adds up to roughly $957 across a full year.
The new maximum annual payment for a single pensioner is about $32,180.

Each member of a couple will earn up to $933.00 per fortnight.

Combined, a couple will receive $1,866.00 a fortnight, an increase of $55.60 and about $48,516 across the year.

These are maximum rates and include the pension supplement and energy supplement.

So what is the catch?

Deeming rates also increase by half a percentage point on 20 September.

The lower rate moves from 1.25% to 1.75%, and the upper rate from 3.25% to 3.75%.

The thresholds stay put at $66,800 for a single person and $110,600 for a couple.

Deeming is the government’s assumption about what your financial investments earn, regardless of what they actually earn.

Full pensioners are unaffected by the change, but anyone holding substantial savings outside superannuation may find the pay rise considerably smaller than they were expecting as a result of these changes.

Where the assets test now stands

The assets test thresholds moved as well.

A single homeowner loses the pension at $745,750 in assessable assets.

For a homeowning couple, the cut-off is $1,121,000 combined.

The payment reduces by $3 a fortnight for every $1,000 of assets above the full pension threshold, which is $333,000 for a single homeowner.

How far the Age Pension actually goes

This is where the arithmetic gets interesting.

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia puts a comfortable retirement at $55,923 a year for a single person and $78,566 for a couple.

The full single Age Pension of roughly $32,180 leaves a gap of about $23,700.

As such, a couple on the maximum rate are around $30,000 short of the same benchmark.

Where ASX dividend shares fit in

Closing that gap over a retirement lasting twenty or thirty years usually means owning assets that produce a rising income.

The Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: VHY), for example, is one of the more popular ways Australians do it.

The fund holds around $7 billion, charges 0.25% a year, and screens the local market for higher-yielding companies.

The fund’s trailing distribution yield has been running well above the broader market’s.

However, the fund is heavily weighted toward banks and miners, so its income rises and falls with commodity prices and credit conditions.

Dividends are also assessable under both the income and assets tests, so extra income can reduce the pension itself.

Foolish takeaway

The 20 September increase is welcome and, for full pensioners, entirely uncomplicated.

For part pensioners with money in the bank, the higher deeming rates will offset some or all of it.

Anyone still working should treat the difference between the Age Pension and a comfortable retirement as the real number to target.

Roughly $23,700 a year is what the safety net does not cover for a single retiree.

Building an income stream from ASX dividend shares is one of the best ways to close it.

The post The Age Pension rises on 20 September. Here’s the new rate appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mark Verhoeven 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 recommended Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Five thousand dollars is enough to build a significant position in three quality ASX shares.

Of these stocks, one is a recovery story, one pays the bills, and one is exposed to a broader structural theme.

1. CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL)

CSL had a truly disappointing FY26 on paper.

The company’s statutory result was a US$2.6 billion loss after US$7.1 billion in impairments.

Underneath that, revenue was US$15.8 billion and underlying NPATA was US$3.1 billion, with both falling by only 1% to 2%.

The market has already looked through it, with the shares up 39% in August alone.

FY27 guidance is where the true interest lies.

Management is targeting roughly 5% underlying profit growth, comfortably ahead of what analysts had pencilled in.

A US$1 billion buyback was announced alongside the result.

At $174.94 the shares trade on a price-to-earnings ratio near 18, which is a long way below the premium CSL carried for most of the past decade.

Interim chief executive Gordon Naylor was direct about the reset:

CSL is positioned for a return to sustainable growth, supported by solid plasma market fundamentals, a simplified business and targeted investment in our commercial capabilities and development programs.

2. Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS)

Telstra is the more boring option to choose from.

The company’s FY26 income slipped 0.8% to $22,937 million. Underlying net profit after tax still rose 4.9% to $2.5 billion, while underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation after leases grew 4% to $8.3 billion.

The company’s full-year dividend lifted 10.5% to 21 cents per share, lifting its dividend yield to 4.4% with franking close to 90%.

Chief executive Vicki Brady tied the payout directly to the company’s broader strategy:

Our dividend is supported by strong cash earnings, and our Connected Future 30 ambition remains to deliver mid-single digit growth in cash earnings.

3. Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

Goodman Group has fallen 16% over the past twelve months, while the company’s earnings went the other way.

Operating profit rose 15.7% to $2.67 billion in FY26, whereas operating earnings per security climbed 10.1% to 129.9 cents.

Work in progress reached $19.7 billion with data centres making up 78% of it, and gearing is at just 6.5% with $6.4 billion of liquidity supporting the company’s future growth plans.

Management is guiding to 9% operating earnings per security growth in FY27.

Group chief executive Greg Goodman explained where the demand is coming from:

Demand is structural across both logistics and data centres. Automation and robotics continue to drive logistics requirements while scarcity of power and land remains the key constraint on AI and cloud growth supporting data centre demand.

Why these ASX shares work together

The three provide a strong level of diversification.

CSL is global healthcare with a US dollar revenue base, whereas Telstra is a domestic utility in all but name.

For its part, Goodman is leveraged to data centre construction across supply-constrained cities.

This provides investors with some level of risk diversification, even in a portfolio of just three stocks.

Foolish takeaway

None of these ASX shares are cheap in the deep value sense.

Each is cheaper than it was twelve months ago while earning more than it did then.

That is the combination that should interest most investors.

For investors just getting into investing, these three ASX blue chips provide a good starting point.

The post Top 3 ASX shares I’d buy with $5000 right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mark Verhoeven 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 CSL and Goodman Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Telstra Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended CSL and Goodman Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

It has been an unusual end to the week for Bubs Australia Ltd (ASX: BUB) shareholders.

The infant formula stock was up 7.53% to 10 cents on Friday when trading was paused shortly before 1pm.

Not long after, Bubs requested a trading halt while it prepares an announcement relating to an update from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The move caps off a strong few days for the shares, which have climbed around 16% over the past week. However, they remain down roughly 27% since the start of 2026.

So, what are investors waiting to hear?

Why are Bubs shares halted?

According to the release, Bubs requested an immediate trading halt pending an announcement relating to an update from the FDA.

Trading will remain suspended until the announcement is released or the market opens on Tuesday, 8 September, whichever comes first.

The FDA decision is a big one for Bubs because the United States has become its largest market.

The company first expanded into the country during the 2022 infant formula shortage, when overseas suppliers were brought in to help ease supply shortages.

At last week’s FY26 result, management said its FDA approval pathway remained on track and that it was confident of achieving authorisation.

In the meantime, Bubs products have continued to be imported, sold and distributed in the US while the FDA completes its review.

Investors will now have to wait for the next announcement to find out exactly what has changed.

Directors have been buying

The halt also comes after a run of director buying over the past few days.

The Australian reported that Bubs chair Paul Jensen and directors Pascal De Petrini and Lori Tauber Marcus have bought around 2.4 million shares on market since 31 August.

Jensen bought 1.5 million shares for about $130,500, while De Petrini picked up 800,000 shares for around $69,600.

On Thursday, US-based director and former PepsiCo executive Lori Tauber Marcus bought her first 100,000 shares at 9.5 cents each.

The US has become a key market

A lot of Bubs’ recent growth has come from the US.

Group revenue rose 9.2% to $111.9 million in FY26, while US revenue increased 24% to $65.8 million as the company expanded into more than 10,000 stores.

Profitability also improved, with underlying EBITDA rising to $5.3 million from $1.2 million a year earlier.

Reported EBITDA was less impressive, coming in at a $1.8 million loss after higher airfreight, regulatory and tariff costs.

Brokers remain fairly positive on the stock as well. TipRanks has three buy ratings, with an average 12-month price target of 13 cents.

That’s about 30% above the halted price of 10 cents.

The post This ASX share jumped 7% before a trading halt. What’s going on? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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.