Travelling pensions

Q: CAN pensions be transferred overseas? I have lived and worked in Australia since 1977. I am 76 this year and still working. My wife is retired and is 72 this year. If we decide to return to the UK within the next two years, can we have a pension transferred to the UK? We receive no pension at the moment as I earn beyond the limit. However, when I retire I shall be entitled to one, according to Centrelink.

Our expert is Centrelink.

Foreign pensions and receiving an Australian pension overseas

A: Most payments from Centrelink 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.

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.

The foreign pension a person receives may affect their Australian Age Pension rate. Centrelink uses a commercial exchange rate to work this out. For information on the current rates, phone Freecall 1800 050 041.

The following factsheets and brochures on Australian and overseas pensions are also available from the Centrelink website:

• Are you leaving Australia? factsheet,
• Australia's International Social Security Agreements factsheets,
• Claiming a Foreign Pension factsheet, and
• Factsheets in languages other than English.

How long can I travel without my pension being affected?

Your pension will remain unaffected as long as you satisfy the following requirements:

• You continue to meet qualifications. For example, if you are on a Disability Support Pension, you remain incapacitated for work, or if you get Parenting Payment Single or Carer Payment, you remain an Australian resident, ie you do not leave the country permanently;
• You are not being paid the pension under a social security agreement for which there are special rules, for example the United Kingdom agreement; and
• You are not affected by former residence provisions.

Age Pension

You can get the Age Pension for the total period of absence; however, after 26 weeks your rate may change.

How much pension is paid while I am absent from Australia?

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.

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 man who lived 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 could be paid 181/300ths of a means-tested pension outside Australia – the extra month is added to all calculations.

For more information

Contact Centrelink on 13 16 73 or visit the Centrelink website.