Kurt G. Says:
A lot of your information is geared towards a US audience. I’m Australian. Would I be able to move overseas and still receive my pension?
Australian Expat Bel Woodhouse Says:
Hi Kurt,
The short answer is yes. But you have to have set up certain things before leaving Australia that will allow you to claim from overseas. Below I have outlined the process for claiming before you leave the country, and the process for claiming if you’re already living or working overseas.
To claim the Australian Age Pension before leaving Australia, there are two main criteria. You need to be 65 years and 6 months old (or older) and have lived in Australia for 10 years. For at least five of those 10 years, your residency has to be permanent with no break.
There is an exception to this. If you have been living abroad or working overseas, then you would need to return to Australia and only prove two years residency to receive the pension.
It’s important to note that you must be in a country that has a social security agreement with Australia. Partnering countries with international social security agreements can be found here.
The government would prefer you to return to Australia to prove your permanency, but you can apply from overseas if you have done the groundwork before you left.
To be eligible to claim from overseas you need to have set up a Centrelink online account, which is linked to your myGov account. To claim the pension, you will need supporting documents and Proof of Identity ready to go along with your claim.
Once your claim process has begun, you can easily track its progress from your myGov account, which will send update notifications to your messages inbox.
Or, you can track the progress using the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app. This 30-second YouTube video shows you all of the benefits of the app and how easy it is to use.
Plus, if you are having trouble while claiming overseas, there is also the option to call an Australian International Service Line for assistance.
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