13 weeks of travel

Q: I’M 74 years old and would like to live overseas in Chile for a couple or more years. I’m naturalised Australian but hold dual citizenship. I'm told that I cannot be away overseas for more than six months otherwise I lose my pension. I'm also told that to be away for longer than six months, for example, for a couple of years, I must have lived and worked in Australia for at least 18 years.

Can you please tell me what the rules and regulations are for living overseas without losing your Australian pension?

Our expert is Centrelink.

A: Most payments from Centrelink, including pensions, can only be paid for temporary absences outside Australia, usually for a period of up to 13 weeks.

Normally, if you leave Australia permanently, you will not be able to continue getting your payment, except for certain pensions. You can continue to get certain payments from Centrelink paid outside Australia if Australia has an agreement with the country to which you move.

Australia currently has International Social Security Agreements with 23 countries, which enable retirees to retain access to their pension even if they move between countries. More information on those specific arrangements can be found here.

If a pension is paid under a social security agreement, the rate outside Australia is governed by that agreement. For most agreements, this means a proportional pension rate applies immediately after departure.

If a pension is payable long term while absent from Australia, it will generally be paid at a proportional rate. A proportional rate is paid based on a pensioner's “Australian working life residence”.

Calculating your Australian working life residence

Australian working life residence is the period of residence from age 16 to Age Pension age. A person need not have worked or paid tax during this period. All a person needs to have done is to have been an Australian resident.

A full means-tested pension can be paid if a person has an Australian working life residence of 25 years (300 months). A proportional pension can be paid for lesser periods.

For example, the rate of pension for a person who lived and worked in Australia for 20 years from age 50 to age 70 would be based on an Australian working life residence of 15 years (180 months) from age 50 to age 65 (Age Pension age). He or she could be paid 181/300ths of a means-tested pension outside Australia – the extra month is added to all calculations.

Retirees who have lived or worked outside Australia and are claiming an Australian Age Pension may also be asked to apply for a pension from the country where they previously lived or worked. A person's partner may also be required to claim a foreign pension if they have lived or worked outside Australia, even if they are not claiming a payment from Centrelink themselves. We can assist retirees with their foreign pension claims.

Before you leave, you should get in contact with Centrelink on 13 16 73 for further advice about the rules for payments under agreements and how they affect your specific case.

Where to find out more

The following factsheets and brochures on Australian and overseas pensions are also available at www.centrelink.gov.au.

• Are you leaving Australia? factsheet


• Australia's International Social Security Agreements factsheets


• Australia’s social security agreement with Chile