Google AI forced to make change after fake claims about Australia’s pension age rising spread online

A false claim circulating online that the pension age in Australia will rise to 68 this month has been republished by Google AI.

The false information, published by HIIT5158.com.au, claims the “official retirement age” in Australia will move from 67 to 68 from November 10, 2025, affecting anyone “born on or after 10 November 1958”.

The information was then picked up by Google AI and was presented in its Overview for some searches.

A screenshot of false information circulating on Facebook last week. (Facebook)

Australia does not have an official retirement age.

Australians can retire at any age if they have the financial means to do so.

Superannuation can generally be accessed when an individual reaches “preservation age”, which is ordinarily somewhere between 55 and 60 depending on when you were born.

Currently, to be eligible for the government’s Age Pension you must be 67 or older.

The false claim was still presenting as part of Google AI’s Overview on Monday morning. (Google)

A spokesperson from the Department of Social Services said “the government has no plans to change the Age Pension age”.

“The Age Pension eligibility age is 67, however you may apply up to 13 weeks earlier,” the spokesperson said.

(HIIT5158)

In response to questions from 9news.com.au, Google said it had investigated the issue and the response had been fixed.

“We aim to surface relevant, high quality information in all our Search features and we continue to raise the bar for quality with ongoing updates and improvements,” a Google spokesperson said.

“When issues arise including if our features misinterpret web content or miss some context, we use those examples to improve and take appropriate action under our policies.”