Claiming a pension
To claim Age Pension, you usually need to be living in Australia and physically here on the day you claim. You don’t need to be an Australian citizen to claim Age Pension, but you do need to be an Australian resident.
Being an Australian resident means that you live in Australia and you are either an Australian citizen, a permanent residence visa holder, or a protected Special Category visa holder from New Zealand.
You also need to meet a qualifying residence period by being an Australian resident for at least 10 years in total. At least 5 of those years must be continuous. There are some exceptions to this 10 year rule.
If you don’t meet these residence rules, you usually can’t be eligible for Age Pension unless you live, or have lived, in another country that Australia has an international social security agreement with.
These agreements may let you claim Age Pension from another country and may also let you add periods of coverage there towards your Australian residence to add up to the 10 years. Each agreement is different, so it’s important to check the details before you claim.
Moving overseas
If you already get Age Pension and you move overseas, your basic payment can usually continue. The amount you get may change, depending on how long you are away and how long you lived in Australia during your working life. This is called your Australian Working Life Residence. It’s the time you were an Australian resident between age 16 and Age Pension age. Once you’ve been overseas for 26 weeks, we use this to work out your ongoing pension rate.
If you have 35 years or more of Australian Working Life Residence, your basic payment rate can usually stay the same. If you have less than 35 years, your rate may reduce. For example, if you have 18 years of Australian Working Life Residence, you may get 18/35ths of your rate after 26 weeks overseas.
Different rules apply if you move or travel long term to New Zealand. In that case, we use Working Age Residence, which looks at periods you lived in Australia or New Zealand between age 20 and Age Pension age. This may apply straight away if you go to New Zealand to live or for more than 12 months, otherwise it’s after 26 weeks.
Your payment rate overseas will also still by affected by changes in your circumstances such as your relationship status and your income and assets.
Before you move or claim from overseas, check the rules on our website (servicesaustralia.gov.au) or contact us on the Older Australians line 132 300. Getting advice early can help you understand what may happen to your payment.
Until next time.
Hank Jongen
General Manager
Services Australia